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FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 
ROBERT  ELLIOTT  SPEER 


.fbs 


THE 

PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


AN  AMERICAN  TEACHER 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/philippineexperi00free_0 


Home  of  the  Author  in  Solano. 


THE 

PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

OF 

AN  AMERICAN  TEACHER 

A NARRATIVE  OF  WORK  AND  TRAVEL  IN 
THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 


WILLIAM  B.  FREER 


ILLUSTRATED 


OCT  ?'■'  1953 


%- 

<£tee ical 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS 
1906 


Copyright,  1906,  by 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS 


Published,  March,  1906 


THIS  BOOK 

IS  DEDICATED  TO  THOSE  AMERICANS, 

WHO,  BY  NOBLE  EXAMPLE, 

BY  BENEVOLENT  MINISTRATION 
AND  BY  UNSELFISH  LABOR  UNDER  TRYING  CONDITIONS, 
ARE  TEACHING  THE  BEST  AMERICANISM  TO  THE  FILIPINOS 


V 


Take  up  the  White  Man’s  burden — 

Ye  dare  not  stoop  to  less — 

Nor  call  too  loud  on  Freedom 
To  cloke  your  weariness. 

By  all  ye  will  or  whisper. 

By  all  ye  leave  or  do, 

The  silent  sullen  peoples 

Shall  weigh  your  God  and  you. 

— Kipling 


FOREWORD 


The  author  trusts  that  the  perusal  of  the 
following  pages  will  result  in  a better  appre- 
ciation of  some  desirable  traits  of  Filipino 
character,  in  a stronger  conviction  of  the  un- 
wisdom of  granting,  at  this  time,  any  greater 
degree  of  self-government  than  the  Filipinos 
already  possess,  and  in  a fuller  understanding 
of  the  work  that  is  being  done  in  the  public 
schools  in  the  attempt  to  fit  the  people  for  the 
eventual  exercise  of  complete  autonomy. 

It  should  be  noted  that,  usually,  the  names 
of  the  persons  mentioned,  and  in  the  last  two 
chapters,  the  names  of  the  places,  are  fictitious. 
A list  of  the  Spanish  and  Philippine  terms 
used  in  the  narrative  may  be  f ound  at  its  close. 


February  9,  1906. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 


I 

The  Arrival  .... 

3 

II 

Travels  in  Northern  Luzon  . 

. 14 

III 

The  Beginning  of  Work  . 

. 27 

IV 

Housekeeping  .... 

. 44 

V 

The  Igorrotes  .... 

. 63 

VI 

The  Town  Fiesta 

. 74 

VII 

Religious  Ceremonies 

. 89 

VIII 

Normal  Instruction 

. 97 

IX 

Barrio  Schools 

. 110 

X 

Departure  from  Solano  . 

. 122 

XI 

Conditions  in  Southern  Luzon 

. 132 

XII 

The  Awakening  in  Camarines  . 

. 150 

XIII 

A Journey  to  the  Rinconada  . 

. 167 

XIV 

Partido  Sketches 

. 178 

XV 

The  West  Coast 

. 204 

XVI 

Among  the  Camarines  Tagalogs 

. 217 

XVII 

Life  in  Nueva  Caceres 

. 236 

XVIII 

Vacation  Travels 

. 254 

IX 


X 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 


XIX 

The  Children,  In  School  and  Out  . 

275 

XX 

The  Native  Teachers 

292 

XXI 

The  Biography  of  a Tao 

300 

XXII 

Some  Filipinos  I Have  Known 

313 

List  of  Spanish  and  Philippine  Terms 

335 

Index  ...... 

341 

ILLUSTRATIONS 


Home  of  the  Author  in  Solano  . . Frontispiece 

FACING 

PAGE 

Church  at  Dupax;  built  in  1776  . . . .26 

Principal  Street  of  Solano  . . . . .26 

The  Solano  Band 76 

The  Cockpit  at  Solano 76 

Ruins  of  Convent  at  Solano ; School-house  in 

Background 114 

Native  Teachers  of  Solano  and  Barrios  . .114 

The  Advanced  Primary  School,  Daet  . . .154 

A Typical  Barrio  Scene 198 

Six  Bicol  Boys  who  Lived  with  the  Author  . . 274 

Benguet  Sanitarium;  and  Three  Igorrote  School- 
boys   274 

Vacation  Normal  School,  Nueva  C&ceres  . . 294 


THE 

PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

OF  AN 

AMERICAN  TEACHER 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  ARRIVAL 

Conclusion  of  the  Voyage — Manila  Bay — Sights 
and  Sounds  of  the  City — A Journey  up  the 
Laguna  de  Bay — The  Native  in  His  Own  Envh 
ronment — Market  People  and  Their  Produce — 
Gambling — A Pudiente's  Breakfast — Oriental 
Confusion — Santa  Cruz — The  Firing  Line — 
Pagsanjan — The  Ignorance  of  the  Tao — The 
“Black  Jesus” — A Harvest  of  Locusts. 

A month  and  a day  after  leaving  the 
Golden  Gate,  the  army  transport  Meade  had 
passed  the  northern  end  of  Luzon  and  was 
steaming  down  the  west  coast  toward  Manila. 
It  was  then  that  we  had  our  first  experience 
with  truly  tropical  weather.  The  gentle  breeze 
from  astern  was  worse  than  none,  for,  with 
the  ship’s  motion,  it  produced  the  effect  of 
still  air ; and  the  hours  were  irksome. 

All  day  we  watched  the  hills  and  mountains 
of  the  Zambales  coast  and  speculated  upon  the 

mysteries  which  lay  among  and  behind  them. 

3 


4 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Shortly  before  sunset  we  steamed  past  Cor- 
regidor  into  Manila  Bay,  so  large  that  it  is 
like  the  sea.  Presently  night  fell,  and  the 
glare  of  the  Cavite  lights  became  visible  in  the 
southern  sky;  and  soon  after  we  located 
Manila  by  the  same  sign.  By  eight  bells  we 
saw  the  red  light  marking  the  entrance  to 
the  Pasig  River  and  the  brilliant  electrics 
on  the  Luneta.  Half -speed — slow — stop — 
astern,  were  successively  telegraphed  to  the 
engine-room;  the  anchor  chains  rattled;  and 
we  had  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  long  voyage. 
The  customs  and  health  officers  do  not  inspect 
after  dark,  so  we  were  obliged  to  curb  our 
impatience  yet  another  night;  again  we  slept 
on  the  canvas  cots  on  the  decks,  dreaming  of 
the  new  chapter  of  life  to  begin  on  the 
morrow. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  made  a desultory 
study  of  as  much  of  the  Manila  water-front 
as  was  visible  at  the  distance  of  a mile,  and 
of  the  ships  of  many  nations  lying  in  their 
berths  round  about.  By  eight  o’clock  we 
were  cleared,  and  the  disembarkation  began. 
Into  a launch  with  bag  and  baggage  we  went, 
up  the  swirling  Pasig  among  the  green 
bunches  of  lettuce-like  lake  weeds,  past  the 
inter-island  steamers  two  and  three  deep,  past 


THE  ARRIVAL 


5 


rank  upon  rank  of  cascos*  tied  to  the  sea-wall 
and  to  each  other;  whistling,  turning  and 
twisting  to  avoid  the  score  of  other  craft  puff- 
ing down  the  river — and  at  last  we  set  foot 
upon  Philippine  soil  and  entered  the  portal  of 
the  untold  future.  The  business  of  the  cus- 
toms finished,  I bundled  myself  and  baggage 
into  a quelis  drawn  by  a small,  lean  pony,  and 
directing  the  bare-footed  cocker o where  to 
drive,  beheld  with  eager  eyes  that  varied  ori- 
ental life  which  is  so  intensely  interesting  to 
the  Westerner  upon  first  acquaintance. 

The  sounds  of  river  and  street  life,  the 
peculiar  odors,  the  strange  sights,  were  be- 
wildering. The  clouted  Chinese  coolies  labor- 
ing on  the  water-front,  the  Filipino  boys  swim- 
ming in  the  Pasig,  the  carabao — unwieldy 
beasts  with  wide-spreading  horns  and  sulphur- 
ous breaths,  the  odd  vehicles  and  the  emaciated 
ponies  drawing  them,  the  Filipinos,  American 
soldiers  in  khaki,  Sikhs,  Cingalese, — all  these 
made  up  the  most  interesting  medley  I had 
ever  seen.  That  day  and  the  few  immediately 
following  I looked  and  lingered,  and  looked 
again,  held  by  a fascination  I could  not  resist. 

If  the  American  newly  arrived  in  Manila 

* For  the  meanings  of  this  and  other  Spanish  and  Philippine 
words  see  the  end  of  the  book. 


6 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


desire  an  opportunity  to  observe  the  native  in 
his  own  environment,  he  cannot  do  better  than 
to  make  a voyage  up  the  Pasig  River  and 
Laguna  de  Bay,  occupying  with  the  return  to 
Manila  two  days.  The  launches  upon  which 
he  travels  are  owned,  managed  and  operated 
by  natives,  and  there  is  hardly  one  white  pas- 
senger to  a thousand  Filipinos.  The  market 
people  flock  to  Manila  every  morning  from 
the  half-dozen  ports  on  the  Laguna  with  bun- 
dles of  fagots,  bales  of  zacate,  bunches  of 
bananas,  chickens  in  crates,  and  many  other 
kinds  of  produce  and  live-stock  for  the  mar- 
kets. Since  there  is  no  other  space  for  it,  this 
miscellaneous  assortment  of  freight  and  the 
humanity  accompanying  it  are  loaded  on  the 
main-deck  of  the  boat,  and  all  are  jumbled 
together.  Here  we  see  a huge  pile  of  cocoa- 
nuts;  there,  a bamboo  cage  containing  half  a 
dozen  monkeys.  To  one  side  are  piles  upon 
piles  of  open-work  baskets  containing  Ca- 
lamba  oranges,  at  the  foot  of  which  lie  ten  or 
fifteen  pigs  with  their  feet  tied,  panting  in 
the  sun.  Between  and  among  them  are  the 
owners  and  others  who  have  produce  aboard, 
and  occasionally  a family  going  to  Manila  on 
a visit.  These  squat  on  the  deck  if  they  can 
find  room;  and  no  matter  how  crowded  the 


THE  ARRIVAL 


7 


boat,  they  can  always  do  so  if  there  be  the 
incentive  of  a game  of  monte.  The  women 
appear  to  be  even  fonder  of  play  than  the 
men;  in  the  group  before  us  five  of  the  players 
are  women  and  only  two  are  men.  See  that 
mother  masticating  her  buyo,  the  while  she 
arranges  her  cards  and  nurses  her  child;  the 
very  infants  absorb  the  love  of  gambling  with 
their  mothers’  milk.  At  a dining  table  in  the 
middle  of  the  deck  a cover  is  being  laid,  and  the 
untidy  waiter  tries  to  make  room  to  place  a 
stool.  Here  comes  a pudiente  wrho  is  about  to 
breakfast,  good-naturedly  picking  his  way 
among  the  masses  on  the  deck.  A huge  dish 
of  rice  is  placed  beside  his  plate;  successive 
courses  of  beef  and  chicken  are  handed  over 
the  people’s  heads  from  time  to  time,  and  he 
devours  all  with  gusto.  The  rice  plate  is  re- 
plenished and  is  again  emptied,  the  last  portion 
being  made  into  a dessert  by  the  addition  of 
tinned  guava  jelly.  He  finishes  by  carrying  a 
glass  of  lake  water  to  his  lips,  rinsing  his 
mouth  well  and  swallowing;  after  which  he 
audibly  gulps  down  the  remainder  of  the 
water,  picks  his  teeth  conspicuously,  and  lights 
a cigarette. 

On  the  down  voyages  upon  arrival  at  the 
muelle  in  Manila  what  was  before  confusion 


8 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


becomes  bedlam.  Babies  and  small  bundles  are 
grabbed  up,  and  each  and  every  passenger  tries 
to  leave  the  boat  before  his  neighbor;  that  is 
the  one  time  the  tao  is  in  a hurry.  Every  man, 
woman  and  child  shouts,  either  to  the  boatmen, 
to  some  friend  on  the  wharf,  or  to  those  jos- 
tling behind ; every  one  pushes,  the  game-cocks 
crow,  the  hens  cackle,  and  the  pigs  squeal.  No 
one  who  has  not  travelled  in  the  Orient  can 
conceive  of  the  noise  and  confusion  upon  such 
an  occasion;  words  fail  utterly  to  describe  it. 

It  was  upon  one  of  these  launches  that  I 
took  passage  for  Santa  Cruz,  the  principal 
port  on  the  Laguna  de  Bay,  to  visit  my  friend, 
the  colonel  commanding  the  — th  Regiment, 
U.  S.  I.  Leaving  Manila  at  eight  in  the  morn- 
ing, we  stopped  a few  moments  at  each  of  the 
several  ports  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake, 
where  my  unaccustomed  eyes  found  much  that 
was  curious  and  interesting  in  native  life  and 
custom:  there  were  bancas  filled  with  passen- 
gers coming  out  to  board  our  boat;  other 
canoes  taking  off  passengers  for  the  shore; 
scantily  attired  boys  and  men  on  such  wharves 
as  we  made  fast  to,  vending  sweet  chicos  and 
tart  lanzones;  and  always  bustle,  excitement 
and  yelling;  for  the  orientals,  be  they  Hindus, 
Mongolians  or  Malays,  cannot  work  together 


THE  ARRIVAL 


9 


without  a vast  deal  of  shouting  one  to  the 
other.  We  made  Santa  Cruz  at  two  o’clock. 

My  visit  took  place  not  long  after  the  sur- 
render of  General  Cailles,  who  has  been  since 
and  is  now  one  of  the  most  loyal  and  efficient 
provincial  governors  in  the  archipelago;  and 
the  province  was  not  yet  completely  pacified. 
That  night  about  one  o’clock  the  colonel  called 
me.  I awoke,  finding  him  standing  at  the  win- 
dow in  the  large  sola  of  his  quarters,  and  as  I 
went  near,  he  raised  his  hand  and  said, 
“Listen.”  Then  I heard  the  sound  of  firing, 
first  two  or  three  volleys  followed  by  scattering 
shots.  “That  has  been  going  on  for  ten  min- 
utes,” he  said.  Judging  by  the  sound,  the 
skirmish  was  taking  place  in  the  hills  several 
miles  away.  In  a few  moments  the  reports 
ceased.  That  was  as  near  as  I came  to  the 
firing  line,  much  to  my  satisfaction. 

The  next  day  the  colonel  took  me  with  him 
in  the  ambulance  to  Pagsanjan,  distant  from 
Santa  Cruz  four  miles  along  a road  lined  with 
beautiful  cocoanut  groves.  We  had  an  escort 
of  several  mounted  infantrymen,  and  saw 
nothing  more  exciting  than  the  natives  at  work 
in  the  rice  fields,  standing  more  than  ankle- 
deep  in  the  well-prepared  mud,  thrusting  each 
individual  rice  stalk  into  the  depths  with  their 


10 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


hands.  Of  the  garmentless  children  who  ran 
out  to  see  us  pass,  some  shouted  “Hello!”  and 
some  saluted  in  military  style.  At  Pagsanjan, 
the  officer  in  command  exhibited  to  us  a capture 
which  he  had  recently  made;  the  story  illus- 
trates as  well  as  any  I know  the  gross  ignor- 
ance and  superstition  of  the  tao. 

F or  several  weeks,  or  perhaps  longer,  agents 
of  the  insurrectos  had  been  going  from  hamlet 
to  hamlet,  surreptitiously  exhibiting  religious 
images  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  to 
carry  on  the  insurrection.  Having  procured 
a suitable  dwelling,  a fife-size  wooden  statue 
with  a dark  face,  attired  in  rich  ecclesiastical 
robes,  was  placed  in  the  corner  of  a room  not 
too  well  lighted,  and  the  people  were  invited  to 
visit  what  was  described  as  a miraculous  image 
of  the  Saviour.  One  of  the  exhibitors  con- 
cealed himself  in  the  adjacent  room  directly 
behind  the  image,  and  the  people  who  gathered 
were  bidden  to  listen  to  the  wonderful  words. 
What  they  believed  to  be  the  divine  voice 
then  told  them,  in  their  own  Tagalog*  dialect, 
that  Heaven  supported  them  in  their  warfare 
against  the  Americans,  and  would  sustain  their 
cause  and  assist  them  to  drive  the  infidels  from 
their  land;  that  money  was  required  for  this 

* Pronounced  Ta-gal-og. 


THE  ARRIVAL 


11 


purpose  and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  give ; that 
they  should  earn  money  in  whatever  way  they 
could,  even  by  laboring  for  the  self-same 
Americans,  and  turn  it  in  to  those  who  were 
authorized  to  receive  it  for  the  holy  cause. 
This  counsel  was  emphasized  by  the  supposed 
presence  of  the  Virgin,  symbolized  by  her 
image  bearing  in  its  arms  a living  infant. 
What  the  belief  of  the  people  was  respect- 
ing the  infant — whether  a re-incarnation  or 
merely  a symbol  of  the  Christ  Child — I did 
not  learn.  But  they  were  awed  by  the  miracu- 
lous voice,  and  with  solemn  mien  stealthily 
went  their  several  ways  to  do  as  they  were  bid, 
talking  with  each  other  meanwhile  of  the 
“Black  Jesus.” 

This  was  the  outfit  that  the  captain  at 
Pagsanjan  had  captured  a few  days  before; 
and  he  pulled  out  a wooden  chest  and  showed 
us  the  dismembered  portions  of  the  wooden 
images,  the  well-made  wax  heads  and  hands, 
and  the  richly  embroidered  robes  which  are  so 
impressive  to  the  mind  of  the  untutored  tao. 
By  this  capture  was  one  source  of  revenue  cut 
off  from  the  native  adventurers  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  La  Laguna  who  had  been  posing  as 
patriots;  for  the  real  patriots  had  surrendered 
with  General  Cailles  several  weeks  before. 


12 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Another  interesting  occurrence  of  that  first 
week  in  Manila  took  place  one  afternoon  in 
Malate  and  Ermita,  when  the  sky  became 
darkened  by  dense  swarms  of  locusts.  The 
poorer  natives  rushed  out  of  their  nipa  dwell- 
ings with  nets;  the  children  ran  about  the 
streets  clutching  at  the  air  and  shrieking  with 
joy.  All  was  excitement.  The  scene  was  like 
that  in  a school-yard  at  home  during  the  first 
snowstorm  of  the  season.  Two  young  men 
stretched  a long,  closely  woven  net  between 
them,  and  ran  across  the  plaza  against  the  in- 
sects when  a swarm  flew  low,  gathering  a gal- 
lon at  a swoop;  these  were  quickly  picked  out 
by  the  women  and  children,  and  thrust  into 
sacks,  after  which  the  men  were  ready  for 
another  run.  Single  Filipinos  waved  smaller 
scoop-nets  in  the  locust-laden  air ; the  little  chil- 
dren caught  them  flying,  or  secured  those  that 
rested  on  the  ground  by  covering  them  with 
cloth  or  hand.  The  huge  tough  leaves  of  the 
cocoanut  palms  bent  beneath  the  weight  of  the 
hosts  which  lighted  upon  them  to  rest  and  feed ; 
in  the  course  of  a few  moments  the  edges  be- 
came ragged  and  unsymmetrical,  and  occa- 
sionally the  thick  stems  broke  at  the  trunk. 
The  insects  rested  on  the  fences,  the  roofs  of 
the  houses,  the  fountain  in  the  plaza,  every- 


THE  ARRIVAL 


13 


where,  and  yet  the  sky  was  constantly  clouded. 
The  first  swarms  passed  on,  and  others  came. 
The  harvest  of  locusts  was  abundant  that  day, 
and  although  the  wild  honey  was  lacking,  the 
people  were  happy. 


CHAPTER  II 


TRAVELS  IN  NORTHERN  LUZON 

Assignment  to  Duty — Defection  of  a Teacher — 
Preparations  for  Journeying — The  Departure — 
The  Rio  Grande  de  Pampanga — Cabanatuan 
— La  Casa  de  Alegria — A Philippine  Bade — A 
Private  School — The  “Rapid  Fire  System” — 
The  Journey  to  Aliaga — A Baguio — Change  of 
Plan — Carranglan — Major  Alhambra — Our  Car- 
avan— The  Arrival  in  Solano. 

Within  a few  days  the  general  superin- 
tendent of  education  assigned  me  as  teacher  to 
Solano,  a small  town  in  the  Province  of  Nueva 
Vizcaya  in  the  interior  of  northern  Luzon,  and 
in  addition,  I was  to  be  in  supervisory  charge 
of  all  the  school  work  in  that  province,  assist- 
ing the  division  superintendent,  whose  head- 
quarters were  at  San  Isidro,  Nueva  Ecija. 
The  general  superintendent  desired  me  to  re- 
main in  Manila  a few  weeks  until  the  arrival 
of  additional  teachers  from  the  United  States, 
so  that  several  might  journey  and  begin  work 
together.  In  the  meantime  I met  a repre- 
sentative of  the  Chicago  Tribune , who  had  just 

14 


TRAVELS  IN  NORTHERN  LUZON  15 


returned  from  a trip  through  the  remote  sec- 
tion whither  I was  going,  bringing  urgent 
requests  from  the  people  to  the  Bureau  of 
Education  for  the  establishment  of  American 
schools.  The  correspondent  bristled  with  en- 
thusiasm over  the  Magat  River  Valley,  and 
particularly  the  character  of  the  people  and  the 
possibilities  of  their  development.  They  were 
peaceful,  industrious,  and  eager  for  instruc- 
tion in  American  ways.  “You  can  do  a won- 
derful work  up  there,”  he  said;  “and,  more- 
over, it  is  a golden  opportunity  for  you.  Why, 
man,  you  may  be  governor  some  day.” 

From  the  additional  teachers  who  soon  ar- 
rived, two  were  selected  to  go  with  me.  But 
one  of  these,  the  Nevada  man — learning  that 
to  reach  that  district  would  require  at  least 
a week’s  constant  travelling  through  an  un- 
settled country  inhabited  by  Igorrote  head- 
hunters— suddenly  concluded  that  the  Philip- 
pines were  “no  place  for  a white  man,”  and  that 
“he  didn’t  know  why  he  had  ever  left  Nevada, 
anyway.”  So,  without  the  formality  of  re- 
signing, he  fled  to  Hong  Kong  and  took  ship 
for  home.  I found  that  the  second  man,  a 
Virginian,  was  suffering  from  neuralgia;  and 
my  impatience  to  be  off  constrained  me  to  beg 
permission  to  leave  without  further  delay.  So 


16 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


I purchased  some  miscellaneous  personal 
effects  which  could  not  be  procured  in  the 
provinces,  and  also,  for  the  native  people, 
quinine,  garden  seeds,  and  thirty  pounds  of 
seed  oats  for  experimental  purposes, — all  in 
line  with  the  Tribune  man’s  suggestions. 
These  supplies  were  made  into  light  packages 
for  mountain  transportation,  and  early  one 
October  morning  I departed  on  the  Manila 
and  Dagupan  Railway.  Leaving  the  train  at 
Calumpit,  where  General  Funston  had  made 
his  famous  crossing  of  the  Rio  Grande  de 
Pampanga,  by  courtesy  of  the  commanding 
officer  I embarked  on  the  army  river  launch 
for  San  Isidro.  The  country  through  which 
we  passed  is  so  flat  that  it  becomes  completely 
inundated  after  a few  days’  continuous  rain, 
and  it  was  flooded  at  this  time.  Only  Mount 
Arayat,  like  a huge  sugar-loaf,  loomed  from 
the  plain,  sometimes  directly  ahead,  then  to 
the  right  or  left,  and  again  straight  behind,  so 
tortuous  are  the  meanderings  of  the  stream. 
That  night,  the  launch  tying  up  to  the  river 
bank,  I slept  on  the  fore-deck  with  a dozen 
khaki-clad  American  soldiers,  under  the  stars. 
By  nine  o’clock  the  following  morning  we 
made  San  Isidro,  where  my  division  superin- 
tendent received  and  welcomed  me  to  his  home. 


TRAVELS  IN  NORTHERN  LUZON  17’ 


The  day  following  I left  by  army-wagon  for 
Cabanatuan,  where  I was  delayed  for  a week 
by  a baguio  or  typhoon,  which  flooded  the  en- 
tire region  and  made  further  travelling  im- 
possible. 

The  Philippine  home  in  which  I sojourned 
with  my  host,  the  American  teacher,  was  that 
of  Don  Leoncio,  and  was  known  among  the 
young  people  of  the  town  as  la  casa  de  alegria, 
since  they  were  free  to  repair  there  for  music 
and  dancing  whenever  they  were  so  minded; 
and  it  was  not  long  until  I attended  my  first 
Philippine  baile.  The  young  men  and  women 
came  in  separate  groups,  the  latter  unescorted 
except,  occasionally,  by  an  aged  dona.  The 
attire  of  the  bailarinas  was  as  brilliant  as  the 
plumage  of  paroquets  and  the  colors  were 
equally  harmonious.  The  two  sexes  occupied 
seats  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  room,  and 
there  was  no  mingling  or  conversation  be- 
tween them  except  when  dancing.  The  re- 
freshments consisted  of  native  wine,  gin  and 
cigarettes,  which,  as  a rule,  were  partaken  of 
sparingly.  The  musical  instruments  were 
harp,  violin  and  guitar,  played  during  the 
evening  by  various  guests.  The  festivities,  in 
which  the  American  military  officers  took  part 
with  zest,  began  with  a rigodon , a Spanish 


18 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


square  dance  with  four,  six,  eight  or  ten 
couples,  much  more  stately  and  graceful  than 
our  quadrilles,  and  reminding  one  somewhat 
of  the  minuet  of  our  dignified  ancestors.  This 
is  danced  without  calling,  as  square  dances 
should  be.  Waltz  followed  rigodon,  two-step 
followed  waltz,  and  merriment  grew  apace. 
Occasionally  a low,  heelless  slipper  went 
skimming  across  the  floor  followed  by  a 
maiden,  whose  bare,  brown  foot  thrust  itself 
out  in  childish  simplicity  to  seek  its  own,  hardly 
interrupting  the  dance.  The  two-step  and 
Virginia  reel  had  been  taught  to  the  native 
people  all  over  the  Islands  by  our  officers  and 
soldiers  during  the  first  two  years  of  the  occu- 
pation, and  these,  being  new  and  American  as 
well,  were  highly  esteemed  by  the  pleasure- 
loving  Filipinos.  And  so  it  was  that  I found 
myself  near  the  close  of  the  evening  smiling 
across  the  lane  formed  for  the  reel  at  my  soft- 
eyed,  olive-skinned  partner,  she,  meanwhile, 
voluptuously  puffing  wreaths  of  fragrant 
cigarette  smoke  above  her  head  of  luxuriant, 
well-oiled  hair;  for  the  women  of  the  tobacco 
regions  are  more  given  to  the  use  of  the  weed 
than  their  sisters  in  the  south.  We  swung  for- 
ward and  back  and  “do-si-doed”  with  chatter 
and  gay  laughter,  until  at  the  close  we  went 


TRAVELS  IN  NORTHERN  LUZON  19 


back  to  our  seats,  breathless  and  merry,  maid- 
ens on  one  side  and  men  on  the  other,  to  rest 
and  smoke  again.  Then  I knew  why  Don 
Leoncio’s  home  was  called  “the  house  of  joy.” 
I was  much  interested  in  learning  that  Don 
Leoncio  conducted  a private  school  for  boys. 
His  eight  pupils,  between  ten  and  twelve  years 
old,  lined  up  on  a bench  in  the  family  dining- 
room each  morning  after  breakfast.  The  reci- 
tation was  a formal  proceeding;  levity  was  felt 
to  be  as  much  out  of  place  as  at  a funeral.  The 
boys  were  catechised  in  regular  rotation  in  the 
exact  words  of  the  questions  in  the  book;  and 
the  answers  were  required  to  be  given  as 
printed  without  the  slightest  deviation,  the  boy 
who  could  rattle  them  off  the  most  rapidly  be- 
ing deemed  the  best  scholar.  If  a pupil  failed 
partially  in  his  answer,  the  custom  of  the  school 
obliged  him  to  present  his  ear  to  his  companion 
next  on  the  right  to  be  gravely  pulled  by  way 
of  reprimand.  If  the  failure  were  consider- 
able, the  ear  was  pulled  twice;  and  if  igno- 
minious, three  times.  If  perchance  the  next 
pupil  failed,  he  underwent  like  punishment, 
but  always  at  the  hands  of  the  boys  who  had 
answered  correctly,  who  no  doubt  enjoyed 
their  reward,  though  the  gravity  of  the  class 
was  never  interrupted. 


20 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


At  another  school  which  I visited  the  “rapid- 
fire”  method  was  in  vogue.  The  pupils  stood 
on  the  floor  in  two  lines  facing  each  other, 
and  the  leading  boy  on  one  side  asked  the  one 
directly  opposite  the  first  question  in  the  lesson. 
The  answer  and  the  second  question  were  fired 
back  at  frightful  velocity  to  boy  number  one, 
who  replied  in  the  same  way.  The  instant 
either  hesitated  or  deviated  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree from  the  exact  words  of  the  text,  the  next 
opponent  on  the  opposite  side  immediately 
took  up  the  assault  or  defence  and  proceeded  in 
like  manner;  and  he  who  had  failed  was  there- 
after hors  de  combat.  Thus  the  battle  pro- 
gressed down  the  fine,  while  the  unaccustomed 
spectator  looked  on  at  the  wordy  warfare  con- 
fused and  astonished,  until  all  on  one  side  were 
vanquished.  In  such  parrot-like  exercises  con- 
sisted the  schooling  of  the  Filipino  child  dur- 
ing the  Spanish  regime.  Arithmetic,  geogra- 
phy, Spanish  grammar  and  the  catechism  were 
all  “taught”  in  this  way. 

At  a distance  of  eight  miles  from  Cabana- 
tuan  lies  the  small  town  of  Aliaga,  and  thither 
I was  directed  to  go,  to  determine  and  report 
to  the  division  superintendent  upon  the  feasi- 
bility of  establishing  a school  on  American 
lines.  At  the  end  of  the  week  the  road  was 


TRAVELS  IN  NORTHERN  LUZON  21 


pronounced  passable,  and  the  lieutenant  in 
command  sent  word  that  I might  join  a party 
of  Filipinos  which  was  going  there  with  an 
escort  of  native  soldiery,  for  there  were  still 
some  marauding  bands  of  insurrectos  in  the 
country.  There  was  a woman  in  mourning, 
whose  husband  had  been  hanged  recently  for 
a series  of  capital  crimes.  With  her  two  grown 
daughters  and  some  little  grandchildren  she 
rode  in  a primitive  two-wheeled  carabao  cart. 
Their  household  eff ects  were  piled  high  on  an- 
other cart  and  surmounted  by  a cane-bottomed 
bed.  The  escort  consisted  of  six  scouts  under 
the  command  of  a corporal.  The  carabao  is 
a sluggish  animal  at  best,  and  the  roads  were 
all  but  impassable  in  places.  Ponds  of  water 
and  soft  mud  were  frequent,  and  could  be 
waded  only  with  great  difficulty;  these  I tra- 
versed perched  high  on  the  furniture  wagon, 
holding  on  precariously  by  hands  and  feet. 
At  noon,  having  made  almost  four  miles,  we 
stopped  at  a cluster  of  nipa  huts  for  rest  and 
food,  and  the  carabao  wallowed  in  the  mud. 
After  a meal  of  rice  and  bananas  I clambered 
up  to  the  cane-bottomed  bed  and  slept  peace- 
fully for  an  hour  in  the  shade  of  some  cocoanut 
trees,  after  which  the  caravan  proceeded  on  its 
muddy  way.  Soon  becoming  tired  of  the 


22 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


snail’s  pace  I forged  ahead  alone,  which,  it 
was  afterward  said,  was  not  a safe  proceed- 
ing; but  four  o’clock  saw  me  safe  in  Aliaga. 
The  escort  with  the  widow  and  her  family 
turned  up  about  dark ; they  had  been  ten  hours 
making  eight  miles. 

I found  there  had  been  no  public  instruction 
in  Aliaga  since  the  insurrection  which  began  in 
1896  interrupted  it,  although  there  were  easily 
four  hundred  children  of  school  age  living 
within  convenient  distance.  The  people  were 
desirous  of  having  the  English  language  and 
American  methods  of  teaching  introduced,  and 
the  presidente  had  two  buildings  in  view  for 
school-houses,  one  for  each  sex;  and  schools 
were  established  under  an  American  teacher  a 
few  months  later. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  another  tremen- 
dous baguio  swept  over  the  country,  again 
inundating  it.  The  quarters  of  the  scouts’ 
officers,  my  hosts,  shivered  and  creaked  like  a 
ship  at  sea;  many  dwellings  and  the  barracks 
kitchen  were  blown  down;  our  house  was  sur- 
rounded by  water  and  the  streets  were  flooded, 
so  that  the  people  were  obliged  to  go  about  in 
bancas.  The  country-women  coming  to  mar- 
ket waded  through  the  water,  waist  or  chest 
deep,  each  carrying  a change  of  garments 


TRAVELS  IN  NORTHERN  LUZON  23 


along  with  the  basket  of  produce  on  her  head. 
When  they  arrived  at  a dry  spot  in  the  road  in 
front  of  our  quarters,  they  executed  the  diffi- 
cult task  of  changing  the  wet  clothing  for  the 
dry  with  admirable  dexterity  and  perfect  mod- 
esty. When,  a few  days  later,  I had  occasion 
to  visit  the  neighboring  town  of  Zaragoza  on 
school  business,  we  travelled  by  banca  directly 
across  the  rice  fields,  a distance  of  eight  miles.* 

A week  after  the  storm  the  roads  could  be 
traversed  again,  but  only  with  great  difficulty. 
I was  about  to  proceed  on  my  way  northward 
by  way  of  Talavera,  according  to  plan,  when 
my  superintendent  directed  me  to  return  to 
Calumpit,  go  up  the  railway  to  Bautista,  and 
then  strike  in  eastward  toward  the  Caraballo 
Sur  Mountains  by  way  of  Rosales,  Humingan 
and  San  Jose.  The  Virginian,  whom  I had 
left  in  Manila,  had  recovered  from  his  neural- 
gia, and  met  me  in  San  Isidro;  and  at  Humin- 
gan two  additional  teachers,  one  from  New 
York  and  the  other  from  Indiana,  were  await- 
ing us;  thence  we  four  departed  for  San  Jose 

* But  little  damage  was  caused  by  this  baguio  in  comparison 
with  that  which  wrought  havoc  in  Samar  and  southern  Luzon  in 
September,  1905,  when,  according  to  telegraphic  reports,  eighty 
per  cent  of  the  dwellings,  warehouses  and  school  buildings  were 
destroyed,  and  many  hemp  plantations  and  cocoanut  groves 
were  laid  low. 


u 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


with  a train  of  army  wagons  and  mounted 
escort  of  American  soldiers.  At  San  Jose  we 
were  delayed  four  days  by  rain,  which  per- 
mitted the  officers  to  give  a baile  in  our  honor. 
From  San  Jose  to  Carranglan  we  travelled  on 
tough  Philippine  ponies,  so  small  that  I felt 
twinges  of  conscience  at  the  apparent  imposi- 
tion of  mounting  the  diminutive  brutes,  until 
experience  proved  that  they  did  not  mind  it  in 
the  least.  Between  these  places,  eighteen  miles 
apart,  there  are  twenty- three  fords,  though  the 
streams  are  neither  deep  nor  dangerous  except 
for  a short  time  after  heavy  rains.  In  fording, 
the  rider’s  feet  are  drawn  up  behind  the  saddle 
or  remain  in  the  stirrups  dragging  through  the 
water,  as  he  chooses,  since  there  is  little  danger 
from  wet  skin  or  clothing  in  tropical  countries. 

At  Carranglan  we  were  storm-bound  an- 
other week,  being  guests  of  the  commanding 
officer,  Lieutenant  Taylor,  who  received  us 
into  his  quarters,  as  did  all  other  American 
officers  in  the  towns  through  which  we  passed. 
This  was  the  officer  who,  by  clever  and  persist- 
ent work,  had  located  Aguinaldo  with  his  staff 
and  body-guard,  and  had  obtained  the  detailed 
information  which  led  directly  to  his  capture 
by  General  Funston  in  person.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  when  Aguinaldo  was  captured. 


TRAVELS  IN  NORTHERN  LUZON  25 


Alhambra,  the  major  attached  to  his  staff,  es- 
caped by  jumping  through  the  window  into 
the  river  below,  and  it  was  believed  he  had 
drowned.  But  he  was  taken  later,  and  was  a 
prisoner  in  the  parish  church  at  the  time  of  our 
sojourn  in  Carranglan,  charged  with  murder. 
We  attended  his  preliminary  hearing  before 
the  local  jjresidente.  He  was  bound  over  for 
trial  before  a higher  tribunal,  but  was  released 
the  following  Fourth  of  July,  I believe,  his 
case  being  covered  by  the  amnesty  proclama- 
tion then  made  by  President  Roosevelt. 

By  wire  we  reported  our  presence  in  Carran- 
glan to  the  captain  commanding  at  Solano,  the 
military  capital  of  the  Province  of  Nueva 
Vizcaya,  whither  we  were  destined;  and  he  re- 
plied that  he  would  send  an  escort  to  conduct 
us.  A day  or  two  later  another  telegram  ar- 
rived from  him  saying  that  the  weather  was 
about  to  clear,  that  there  would  be  an  eclipse 
of  the  sun  the  following  day,  and  that  our 
escort  of  three  American  soldiers  had  left 
Solano.  Three  days  later  they  straggled  in, 
one  hatless,  and  all  forlorn  and  wet  to  the  skin 
with  rain  and  the  fording  of  streams.  The 
weather  did  clear  the  following  day,  and  since 
the  mountain  streams  diminish  from  torrents 
to  small  creeks  in  a few  hours,  we  departed  on 


26 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


the  last  stage  of  our  journey.  Rather  an  im- 
posing caravan  we  imagined  ourselves — seven 
Americans,  as  many  Filipinos,  and  fourteen 
pack  animals  (ponies  and  carabao)  to  trans- 
port our  supplies.  We  camped  in  the  moun- 
tains two  nights,  going  over  the  four-thousand- 
foot  pass  in  the  Caraballo  Sur  the  second 
morning.  We  saw  no  head-hunters.  The 
third  day  we  passed  through  the  Isanay  town 
of  Dupax,  where  wre  were  hospitably  enter- 
tained at  dinner  by  the  presidente.  That  night 
we  slept  in  the  school-house  at  Bambang,  and 
the  following  day  made  Solano.  I had  been  on 
the  way  from  Manila  five  weeks  and  two  days, 
a journey  requiring  but  six  days  in  fine 
weather. 


Church  at  Dupax;  built  in  1776. 


Principal  Street  ol  Solano, 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  WORK 

The  Town  of  Solano — The  Igorrote  Country — A 
Baile  in  Bayombong — The  Tobacco  Habit — The 
Solano  School — Coaching  the  Native  Teachers — 
Teaching  a New  Language  to  a Strange  People — 
Object  and  Action  Lessons — The  Night  School 
— “Home,  Sweet  Home” — Some  Results — Lin- 
guistic Ability  of  Americans. 

No  welcome  could  be  more  cordial  than  that 
given  us  four  by  the  captain  commanding,  the 
lieutenant-quartermaster  and  the  physician, 
who,  with  a small  detachment  of  soldiers  com- 
prised the  American  colony  at  Solano.  They 
received  us  into  their  quarters,  seated  us  at 
their  table,  and  were  of  the  greatest  assistance 
in  the  working  out  of  our  plans. 

The  town  of  Solano  has  something  more 
than  five  thousand  inhabitants,  belonging 
mainly  to  two  peoples,  the  Ilocanos,*  immi- 
grants into  that  country  from  the  western 

* The  Spanish  forms  of  tribal  names  have  been  used  in  this 
narrative  rather  than  the  scientific  classification  and  orthography 
of  the  Ethnological  Survey. 


27 


28 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


coast  of  Luzon,  and  the  more  recently  Chris- 
tianized Gaddanes.  The  streets  are  wide  and 
grass-grown.  Of  the  dwellings,  some  are 
frame  with  oyster-shell  windows,  but  most  are 
of  thatch  with  bamboo  frame- work.  A huge 
ditch  of  running  water  extends  along  one  side 
of  the  main  street.  The  stone  church  and  con- 
vent were  destroyed  by  lightning  and  fire  some 
years  ago.  A portion  of  the  convent  was  re- 
stored and,  at  the  time  of  our  arrival,  was 
occupied  by  the  military  commissary.  Upon 
the  dilapidated  ruins  of  the  church  walls  a new 
building  of  thatch  was  erected  for  temporary 
use.  Beside  this  church  is  the  market-place 
— a large  open  space  containing  sheds  of 
bamboo  and  thatch  for  shelter  for  wares  and 
market  people,  and  a low  palisade  of  bam- 
boo stakes  used  as  the  cock-pit.  Market  is 
held  on  Thursdays  and  Sundays;  the  cock- 
fighting  takes  place  on  Sundays  after  mass 
and  on  legal  holidays.  To  the  north  and  west 
of  the  town  the  mountains  rise  to  the  height 
of  nearly  a mile,  and  among  these  are  the  set- 
tlements and  boundless  ranges  of  the  various 
tribes  of  Igorrotes.  These  regions  are  so 
inaccessible  and  little  known  that  travellers 
who  wish  to  visit  the  country  beyond  make 
a detour  of  several  hundreds  of  miles  rather 


THE  BEGINNING  OE  WORK 


29 


than  attempt  to  cross  them.  The  civilized 
people  we  found  to  be  all  that  had  been 
said;  there  appeared  to  be  less  poverty  and 
more  contentment  than  in  the  Tagalog  prov- 
inces to  the  south;  and  even  at  that  early  day 
all  appeared  to  realize  the  opportunities  for 
material  and  moral  progress  presented  by  the 
American  occupation,  and  to  be  anxious  to  em- 
brace them.  The  Christian  population  of  the 
six  towns  of  the  province  is  about  sixteen  thou- 
sand; their  wild  neighbors  number  forty-six 
thousand  five  hundred. 

A few  evenings  after  our  arrival  a baile  was 
given  in  the  town  of  Bayombong,  three  miles 
from  Solano,  in  honor  of  the  American  judge 
of  the  court  of  first  instance  then  closing  its 
sessions.  It  was  held  at  the  home  of  the  presi- 
dente , and  was  the  most  elaborate  function  I 
had  seen  up  to  that  time.  The  Americans  of 
Solano  drove  over  in  an  army  wagon,  and  were 
received  by  the  presidente  and  provincial  fiscal. 
The  rooms  were  decorated  with  different  kinds 
of  palms  and  other  beautiful  foliage,  which,  so 
plentiful  in  the  Philippines,  have  only  to  be 
gathered.  Bottled  beer  was  served  upon  our 
arrival,  and  immediately  after  we  were  invited 
to  the  dining-room  and  seated  at  the  supper- 
table,  e^ch  gentleman  with  a Filipina.  Many 


30 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


of  these  women  wore  rich  costumes — long- 
trained  skirts  of  brocaded  silk  in  bright  colors 
and  loose  upper  garments  of  fine  piha  hand- 
somely embroidered;  and  some  were  guilty  of 
encasing  their  feet,  accustomed  to  the  comfort 
of  chinelas,  in  high-heeled  and  narrow-toed 
slippers.  An  orchestra  of  fifteen  instruments 
began  playing  as  the  waiters  filled  our  glasses 
with  wine.  Then  followed  course  after  course 
of  food  prepared  in  Spanish  style — fish,  veni- 
son in  several  different  modes  and  courses, 
chicken,  goat’s  flesh,  patties  and  other  dishes 
which  have  no  English  names.  Few  vege- 
tables were  served.  The  dessert  consisted  of  a 
rich  pudding  made  of  native  chocolate,  sugar, 
carabao’s  milk,  eggs  and  rice  flour;  luscious 
bananas,  and  coffee  of  native  growth.  All  of 
the  food  was  well  prepared,  very  palatable  and 
nicely  served.  For  the  dancing,  the  orchestra 
and  the  town  brass  band  alternated  in  playing ; 
beer  and  cigars  wrere  served,  Philippine  eti- 
quette permitting  smoking  at  all  such  func- 
tions. The  party  did  not  break  up  until  two 
o’clock  in  the  morning,  when  our  wagon  rat- 
tled its  way  homeward  to  Solano  by  moonlight, 
while  the  occupants  sang  “I  Was  Seeing  Nellie 
Home”  and  other  old  songs. 

Smoking  is  much  more  general  in  these 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  WORK 


31 


tobacco  regions  than  elsewhere  in  the  Islands, 
and  cigars  are  commonly  called  tobaccos. 
Those  used  by  the  peasant  women  are  gigantic, 
the  average  size  being  that  of  the  chimney  of 
a student’s  lamp.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  end 
of  such  a cigar  is  as  much  as  can  be  thrust  con- 
veniently into  the  mouth.  Each  family  has  its 
patch  of  tobacco,  and  the  cigars  used  are  of 
home  manufacture.  They  are  not  fashioned 
nicely  as  is  the  cigar  of  commerce,  since  each 
tobacco  is  only  a tight  roll  of  the  leaves  tied 
around  with  a bit  of  twine  or  vegetable  fibre 
to  hold  them  together.  These  the  women  find 
very  convenient;  they  last  a long  time,  they 
can  be  put  down  anywhere  after  use  until  it  is 
time  to  smoke  again,  and  they  are  not  easily 
misplaced.  The  men  smoke  cigars  of  ordinary 
size.  Smoking  being  thus  common,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  Solano  public  sentiment  per- 
mits the  children  who  so  desire  to  indulge  the 
habit.  Hence,  boys  often  went  smoking  to 
school;  at  the  sounding  of  the  signal  each  weed 
was  thrust  into  some  convenient  crevice  to 
await  the  owner’s  pleasure  at  dismissal. 

Within  a few  days  my  three  companions 
went  their  several  ways  to  begin  school-work, 
— the  Virginian  to  Bayombong,  the  New 
Yorker  to  Bagabag  and  the  Indiana  man  back 


32 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


to  Dupax.  I myself  remained  in  Solano  and 
took  charge  of  the  two  schools  for  boys  and 
girls  respectively,  which  were  already  organ- 
ized and  holding  their  sessions  in  the  dwellings 
of  the  two  native  teachers.  The  children  re- 
ceived a week’s  vacation  so  that  the  entire  time 
might  be  devoted  to  the  English  instruction 
of  the  teachers.  Consequently,  the  following 
Monday  morning  we  were  all  hard  at  work. 
The  English  class  met  twice  daily  and  was 
made  up  of  the  two  teachers  mentioned,  sev- 
eral private-school  teachers  and  six  or  eight 
aspirantes.  A week  later  the  children  gath- 
ered again  in  the  dwellings  of  the  maestro  and 
maestra  as  had  been  their  wont.  Owing  to  the 
mid-day  heat  the  school  hours  were  from  eight 
to  ten  in  the  morning  and  from  three  to  five 
in  the  afternoon,  according  to  previous  custom. 
I spent  an  hour  twice  a day  in  each  school,  and 
an  hour  and  a half  with  the  teachers’  class, 
W'hich  continued  its  daily  meetings  after  the 
children’s  sessions.  During  the  hours  of  my 
absence  from  the  children’s  classes,  the  native 
instructors  taught  reading  and  spelling  from 
the  easy  lessons  of  the  chart,  writing  and  count- 
ing, all  in  the  English  they  had  learned  that 
first  week  of  their  schooling.  There  were  few 
benches  and  no  desks,  and  most  of  the  children 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  WORK 


33 


sat  on  the  floor,  a position  which  for  them  is  not 
constrained. 

The  immediate  problem  was  to  make  some 
sort  of  a beginning  at  the  tremendous  task  of 
teaching  a new  language  to  a strange  people. 
There  was  but  one  way  to  go  about  it  and  that 
was  by  means  of  object  and  action  lessons.  The 
method  used  was  f or  the  teacher  to  hold  up  an 
object,  say  a ball,  and  have  the  children  repeat 
the  name  after  him,  individually  and  as  a class, 
a number  of  times,  at  the  same  time  writing  the 
word  on  the  blackboard;  and  by  dint  of  repe- 
tition fixing  the  idea  and  the  spoken  and  writ- 
ten words  in  the  children’s  minds;  and  then 
teaching  in  the  same  manner  the  names  of  other 
objects,  as  booh,  chair,  table,  etc.,  but  not  too 
many  words  at  a time.  Combining  these  words 
with  this,  that,  what  and  is,  simple  questions 
and  answers  were  framed,  such  as  these: 
Teacher  (holding  up  the  object) — “What  is 
this?”  Pupil — “That  is  a ball.”  Teacher  (in- 
dicating)— “What  is  that?”  Pupil — “That  is 
a book.”  The  singular  forms  being  under- 
stood, the  plurals  were  similarly  taught.  In- 
structed thus,  over  and  over,  time  and  again, 
the  children  presently  knew  the  name  of  every 
object  that  could  be  brought  within  their  range 
of  vision.  A succeeding  step  carried  the  pupils 


34 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


to  easy  conversation  exercises,  like  the  follow- 
ing: “What  do  you  see?”  “I  see  a man.” 

“Santos  and  Miguel,  what  do  you  see?”  “We 
see  a dog.”  “Damiana,  what  do  you  hear?” 
“I  hear  a bell.”  “Salustiano,  what  have  you?” 
“I  have  a flower.”  The  children  quickly 
learned  to  frame  the  appropriate  answers. 
Each  new  word  and  phrase  was  repeated  many 
times  in  all  possible  combinations  with  words 
previously  learned,  the  teacher  being  careful 
always  to  frame  complete  questions  and  to 
require  from  the  pupils  complete  answers,  as 
distinguished  from  abbreviated  questions  and 
answers. 

The  teaching  of  the  names  of  different 
members  of  the  body  was  not  omitted,  and  it 
was  not  long  until  the  bright  children  were 
able  to  name  and  indicate,  for  the  benefit  of 
delighted  parents  and  admiring  friends,  their 
noses,  eyes,  ears,  arms,  legs,  fingers  and  toes, 
and  even  to  tell  how  many  of  each  of  these  they 
possessed.  These  lessons  were  amplified  and 
extended  by  the  borrowing  of  neighborhood 
cats,  dogs  and  chickens;  and  when  the  class 
went  for  an  out-door  walk,  even  friendly 
goats,  horses  and  carabao  which  might  be 
found  grazing  in  the  streets  lent  their  aid  to 
English  instruction.  The  little  folk  enjoyed 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  WORK 


35 


learning  to  count  in  the  new  language,  first  to 
ten,  then  to  twenty,  and  so  on;  and  it  was  not 
long  until  they  were  counting  everything  enu- 
merable in  the  school-room,  from  the  cracks  in 
the  floor  to  the  little  square  oyster-shell  panes 
in  the  windows,  and  from  their  own  fingers  and 
toes  to  the  children  at  school.  At  home,  the 
exercise  was  continued  by  much  counting  of 
brothers  and  sisters,  pigs  and  chickens.  But 
for  weeks  they  insisted  on  saying  “tree”  for 
three , “fi”  for  jive,  “sick”  for  six,  and  “twel” 
for  twelve. 

Presently  we  advanced  to  more  difficult  les- 
sons. For  example,  to  teach  run,  the  word 
was  pronounced  by  the  teacher,  written  on 
the  board,  and  pronounced  several  times  by 
the  class ; then  the  teacher  would  run  across  the 
room  once  or  twice,  the  pupils  meanwhile  re- 
peating the  word,  after  which  a boy  was  called 
from  his  seat  upon  the  floor  and  told  to  run. 
The  little  Filipinos  are  keen,  and  the  child, 
four  times  out  of  five,  would  understand  im- 
mediately and  suit  the  action  to  the  word  with 
willing  limbs  and  beaming  face;  if  not,  a repe- 
tition of  the  command,  accompanied  by  a ges- 
ture and  a slight  pressure  on  the  back  would 
be  sufficient;  and  by  the  time  another  boy  or 
two  and  a girl  had  run,  the  word  was  learned. 


36 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


At  the  same  or  a succeeding  lesson  the  com- 
mand was,  “Run  to  the  table,”  “Run  to  the 
chair,”  “Run  to  the  door,”  “Run  to  me,”  and 
so  on.  Nothing  so  delights  a child  as  action, 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  with  tactful,  ear- 
nest teachers  the  little  Filipinos  were  soon  at- 
tending school  with  much  greater  interest  and 
regularity  than  ever  before.  In  like  manner 
were  taught  the  prepositions:  “The  ball  is  on 
the  table,”  “The  book  is  in  the  chair,”  etc.,  re- 
peated many  times  by  the  pupils,  with  frequent 
variations  and  the  action  suiting  the  phrase  al- 
ways performed  by  teacher  or  pupil.  Simi- 
larly objects  were  used  to  teach  the  more  com- 
mon descriptive  adjectives,  and  further  along, 
their  comparison;  to  illustrate,  long,  longer, 
longest  were  taught  with  three  long  pieces  of 
bamboo  of  varying  lengths;  small,  smaller , 
smallest,  with  small  stones,  or  possibly  by  hav- 
ing three  little  children  of  diff erent  sizes  stand 
side  by  side  on  the  floor;  and  so  on,  ad  infin- 
itum. A few  months  later  the  principal  tenses 
of  common  verbs  were  taught  in  this  manner: 

Teacher — “Juan,  you  may  go  to  the  door, 
open  it,  come  back  to  the  table,  take  the  ruler 
and  hand  it  to  Rosita.  Now,  what  will  you 
do?” 

Juan — “I  shall  go  to  the  door,  open  it,  and 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  WORK  37 

come  back  to  the  table;  then  I shall  take  the 
ruler  and  hand  it  to  Rosita.” 

Teacher — “Domingo,  what  will  Juan  do?” 
Domingo — “Juan  will  go  to  the  door,  open 
it,  and  come  back  to  the  table ; then  he  will  take 
the  ruler  and  hand  it  to  Rosita.” 

Several  other  pupils  tell  what  Juan  will  do, 
after  which  he  performs  the  series  of  actions  as 
bidden,  saying  meanwhile,  “I  go  to  the  door — 
I open  it — I come  back  to  the  table — I take  the 

ruler — and  hand  it  to  Rosita.”  Then 

Teacher — “What  did  you  do?” 

Juan — “I  went  to  the  door,  opened  it  and 
came  back  to  the  table;  then  I took  the  ruler 
and  handed  it  to  Rosita.” 

Other  pupils  then  tell  what  Juan  did  while 
the  teacher  places  the  story  on  the  blackboard. 
Then  another  series  of  actions  is  performed, 
discussed  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  account 
written ; after  which  the  lesson  as  it  appears  on 
the  board  is  copied  by  the  pupils  in  their  note- 
books for  future  reference.  These  methods 
are  susceptible  of  infinite  variations,  and,  to- 
gether with  lessons  in  reading,  spelling,  writ- 
ing, numbers  and  singing,  enable  the  bright- 
eyed children  to  command  sufficient  English 
after  a couple  of  years  to  converse  with  any 
American  or  Englishman  who  may  happen 


38 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


into  the  town,  and  to  enter  upon  the  studies 
of  the  third  year  of  the  primary  course,  and, 
later,  the  three  years  of  the  intermediate  course, 
if  the  poverty  of  the  family  does  not  forbid. 

A night  school  for  adults  was  organized  to 
meet  three  times  a week,  and  for  these  meet- 
ings the  captain  lent  the  use  of  his  own  quar- 
ters. By  the  third  session  there  was  an  enrol- 
ment of  eighty  men  and  women,  but  when  it 
was  found  that  English  was  not  to  be  learned 
in  a week  or  a month,  the  attendance  fell  to 
fifty.  These  ambitious  spirits  came  together 
faithfully,  and  were  soon  able  to  read  through 
the  chart  and  primer  and  translate  the  sen- 
tences into  Spanish  or  the  native  dialects.  I 
began  to  teach  singing  both  in  the  day  and 
night  schools,  selecting  “Home,  Sweet  Home” 
to  commence  with,  since  to  me  that  was  the 
most  tuneful  and  appropriate  song.  The  cap- 
tain wrote  the  music  in  large  characters  on  a 
huge  sheet  of  manila  paper  for  the  night 
school,  many  of  the  members  of  which  were 
able  to  read  the  notes;  and  they  copied  the 
words  from  the  blackboard  into  their  note- 
books. When  the  meaning  of  the  song  was 
understood,  they  entered  quickly  into  its  spirit, 
and  the  sweet,  plaintive  air  filled  the  rooms. 
The  children  of  the  day  school  learned  it  by 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  WORK 


39 


rote  and  sang  it  with  expression.  In  less  than 
a week  it  was  the  song  of  the  town.  The 
parents  learned  it  from  their  children;  it  was 
heard  in  every  street  and  almost  in  every  house, 
from  old  and  young,  by  day  and  by  night. 
The  pronunciation  was  often  wrong,  and  some- 
times the  tune  was  faulty;  but  sentiment  and 
melody  there  were  always.  And  thus,  a little 
sooner  or  later,  began  the  work  of  the  Amer- 
ican teachers  with  the  willing  and  gentle  brown 
people  of  the  Philippines. 

The  schools  soon  closed  for  the  Christmas 
vacation,  although  in  Nueva  Vizcaya  we  had 
scarcely  begun  work;  and  as  January  and  Feb- 
ruary are  the  months  of  the  rice  harvest  in  that 
section,  and  the  children  and  native  teachers 
must  work  in  the  fields,  the  classes  could  not 
reassemble  until  March.  But  the  night  school 
was  converted  into  an  afternoon  school  for 
adults,  which  met  two  and  a half  hours  daily 
during  those  months ; and  it  was  not  long  until 
the  members  of  the  class,  aided  by  dictionary 
study  at  home,  began  handing  in  such  exercises 
as  the  following  imaginary  conversations: 

Did  you  hear  what  Mr.  Teacher  said  about 
our  exercise  that  we  will  bring  to  him  to-day, 
my  dear  friend? 


40 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


I have  not  heard  it. 

What  do  you  pick  it  up,  Peter? 

A paper  is  written  in  English  and  I under- 
stand what  is  in  it. 

Please  read  it. 

“All  that  I tell  you  are  those  advices  which 
I told  you.” 

Do  you  know  if  any  one  have  come  home  to 
inquire  for  me? 

We  came  precisely  from  your’s,  but  we  did 
not  see  any  one. 

What  do  that  child  eat  ? 

He  eats  banana,  and  I remember  that  this 
morning  I have  eaten  banana  and  has  done  me 
prejudice. 

Have  you  written  to  your  brother? 

I wrote  one  last  evening. 

Can  you  tell  now  the  lesson  ours  ? 

No,  but  the  teacher  told  to  his  pupils  and  the 
presidente  told  to  the  neighbors. 

What  do  you  do  ? 

We  did  this  house. 

Has  comes  his  father  visit  him? 

No;  in  the  last  year  he  cames  almost  all  the 
months ; if  he  comes  in  this  month,  we  shall  say 
him  which  his  son  wishes  or  wills  to  learn  in 
the  public  school. 

Do  you  can  hear  the  bird’s  song  ? 

I did  not  have  hear,  because  I am  far,  but 
my  brother  has  it  heard. 

What  did  the  lad  do  when  overtook  him  your 
mother  in  the  street  ? 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  WORK 


41 


He  was  tolding  a history  to  his  companions. 
He  has  told  all  his  passages. 

One  of  the  most  devoted  and  faithful  mem- 
bers of  the  adult  class,  a middle-aged  woman, 
had  a severe  struggle  with  English.  She  was 
of  fine  character  and  had  a warm  heart,  and  I 
shall  always  count  it  a privilege  to  have  known 
her.  In  neighborly  fashion  she  sent  me,  nicely 
wrapped  in  white  tissue  paper,  a small  head  of 
cabbage  grown  in  the  mountains,  a rare  deli- 
cacy in  the  Philippines.  A few  days  later,  I 
returned  the  compliment  by  sending  her  a can 
of  American  blackberry  jam.  Her  acknowl- 
edgement ran  as  follows: 

“Entire  of  the  billet,  ackna  for  he  sweet 
jelly  in  jam  but  I sentar  which  you  not  may 
know  to  bottom;  well  him  no  had  sold  the  one 
cabbage  for  pay ; that  was  seen  condition,  only 
how  you  not  is  of  here  good  learning  also  soos 
products,  and  how  my  Inspector  and  Mr.  well 
deserves  all  my  attention  and  gratefulness. 
Always  very  respectfully  yours,”  etc. 

I figured  out  that  the  good  woman  meant 
to  say:  “I  received  your  note,  accompanied 
by  the  can  of  sweet  jam.  But  I feel  that  you 
may  not  have  understood  my  motive,  as  I 
did  not  want  pay  for  the  cabbage.  It  was 


42 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


sent  merely  as  an  example  of  our  products, 
of  which,  naturally,  you  cannot  be  well  in- 
formed  ” 

The  linguistic  ability  of  my  fellow-country- 
men, shown  in  their  mastery  of  the  Spanish 
language,  impressed  me  deeply  during  the  first 
few  weeks  of  my  wanderings.  Everywhere 
I heard  Americans  of  all  classes,  and  particu- 
larly soldiers  and  teamsters,  fluently  convers- 
ing with  the  natives  in  Spanish,  and  great  was 
my  admiration.  Such  versatility  was  extraor- 
dinary. “What  a wonderful  people  we  are,” 
I thought,  and  my  heart  swelled  with  pride. 
But  as  time  went  on  my  opinion  underwent 
modification,  until,  finally,  I learned  that  what 
I mistook  for  Spanish  was  a remarkable 
jargon  bearing  no  more  resemblance  to  the 
correct  speech  than  does  Bowery  slang  to 
chaste  English.  To  compose  this  jargon, 
which  came  to  be  known  as  “soldier”  or  “pack- 
train- Spanish,”  the  would-be  linguist  had  but 
to  know,  correctly  or  incorrectly,  about  ten 
verbs  in  the  third  person,  singular  number  and 
present  tense,  twenty  nouns,  the  adjective 
forms  bueno  and  malo,  and  the  adverbs  si,  no 
and  porque , and  to  be  able  to  throw  these  to- 
gether with  English  words  interspersed;  and 
lo,  he  was  able  to  converse  anywhere  and  every- 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  WORK 


43 


where  in  the  Philippines.  The  adult  members 
of  my  Filipino  class  gave  more  study  and 
greater  endeavor  to  their  crude  attempts  at 
English,  and  achieved  better  results. 


CHAPTER  IV 


HOUSEKEEPING 

A Test  of  Adaptability — My  First  Dwelling — Meth- 
ods of  Bathing — The  Philippine  Bed — The 
Stove — Manner  of  Cooking — A Small.  Thief — 
Two  Little  Muchachos — The  Market — Small 
Potatoes — The  Use  of  Rice — The  Withdrawal 
of  the  Military — Alone  in  Solano — My  New 
Domicile — Pianos  and  Marble-topped  Tables — 
Neighborhood  Intercourse — The  Mail — Frontier 
Hospitality — Methods  of  Laundering — The  So- 
lano Ditch — Servants — My  Igorrote  Cook  and 
House-boy  — Polishing  the  Floors  — Clemente’s 
Accounts — Beetle  Stew. 

Setting  up  housekeeping  in  the  provinces  is 
a unique  experience  for  the  newly  arrived 
American  and  an  excellent  test  of  his  adapta- 
bility. The  first  dwelling  which  gave  me  shel- 
ter was  vacated  by  the  family  of  the  vice- 
presidente  especially  for  my  convenience,  the 
town  paying  the  rental  of  two  pesos  a month. 
The  frame,  walls  and  floor  of  the  main  portion 
were  of  hard  wood,  and  comprised  a large 
double  room  and  a small  bedroom.  The  kitchen 

44 


HOUSEKEEPING 


45 


at  the  back  was  of  thatch  on  a bamboo  frame- 
work, and  a thatch  roof  covered  the  whole. 
To  these  I added  at  my  own  expense  a bath- 
room of  the  same  material  as  the  kitchen,  with 
floor  of  bamboo  strips.  In  lieu  of  a bathtub, 
the  American  bathes  as  the  well-to-do  Fili- 
pinos do,  which  is  to  stand  by  a huge  earthen 
water- jar  and  pour  water  over  himself  from 
a cocoanut  shell  dipper,  the  water  falling 
through  the  slats  upon  the  ground  beneath. 
Or  he  may  improve  upon  this  method  by  per- 
forating the  bottom  of  a five-gallon  oil  can, 
which  he  fills  with  water  and  draws  up  by  a 
rope  and  pulley  arrangement  attached  to  a 
beam  overhead,  thus  improvising  a shower- 
bath.  Of  course,  Americans  residing  in  Ma- 
nila know  nothing  of  such  methods  as  these, 
but  we  of  the  provinces  think  they  do  not  know 
much  about  the  Philippines  anyway. 

The  Philippine  bed  is  well  suited  to  the  cli- 
mate, since  it  consists  only  of  a hardwood 
frame  and  rattan  bottom,  covered  by  a petate 
or  thin  straw  mat.  This  bed  is  so  firm  and 
cool  that  when  one  goes  to  Manila  to  the  hos- 
pital or  a hotel,  where  mattresses  are  used,  he 
is  made  so  warm  and  uncomfortable  by  the  un- 
usual softness  that  he  makes  haste  to  get  well 
or  finish  his  business,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 


46 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


return  to  his  own  delightful  couch.  This  may 
be  better  understood  if  it  be  explained  that, 
except  in  the  more  elevated  districts,  the  night 
temperature  seldom  falls  below  seventy  or 
sixty-nine  degrees.  But  even  so,  one  sleeps 
comfortably  and  never  tosses  through  a sleep- 
less night  as  he  sometimes  does  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  United  States — that  is  if  he  uses 
a cane-bottomed  bed  and  petate.  It  is  unfor- 
tunate that  the  people  at  home  do  not  know  the 
comfort  of  such  a bed.  He  who  introduces  it 
to  them  will  be  reckoned  a benefactor. 

There  is  no  article  more  primitive  than  the 
stove  of  the  Philippines — a strong  box-like  af- 
fair about  three  feet  by  six,  and  six  inches  deep, 
filled  with  earth  and  raised  to  the  height  of  a 
table  on  four  stout  legs.  Large  cobblestones 
in  threes  are  placed  hereon,  as  many  threes 
as  there  are  ollas  or  pots  to  be  cooked  at  one 
time,  and  so  arranged  as  to  support  these  above 
the  several  fires,  in  camping-out  fashion.  The 
smoke  rises  in  the  room,  blackening  the  inside 
of  the  roof  overhead  and  escaping  through  the 
various  cracks  and  crannies  in  the  roof.  This 
apparatus  is  used  in  all  Philippine  households, 
both  rich  and  poor. 

With  a stove  of  this  kind  the  expert  native 
cook  can  prepare  a banquet  of  many  courses 


HOUSEKEEPING 


47 


and  serve  each  one  hot  at  the  required  moment. 
But  woe  to  the  American  who,  in  the  absence 
of  his  cook,  attempts  to  prepare  thereon  a sim- 
ple meal.  Likely  the  fire  does  not  burn;  his 
eyes  fill  with  smoke  until  he  weeps  and  stands 
in  the  doorway  for  relief.  He  returns,  and 
stooping  over  the  stove  places  a bamboo  tube 
to  his  lips  and  utilizes  his  lungs  as  a bellows 
until  he  blows  the  ashes  into  the  food  and  the 
embers  into  a flame ; begrimed  and  besmudged, 
he  needs  must  seek  the  doorway  again  to  re- 
cover his  breath.  The  fire  becomes  too  hot ; the 
pot  boils  over ; and  he  burns  his  fingers  trying 
to  lift  the  lid  and  remove  some  of  the  burning 
fagots.  When,  finally,  by  the  exercise  of  great 
patience  and  self-control  he  finishes  the  cook- 
ing process,  he  finds  that  he  has  for  his  repast 
a dish  of  food  well-flavored  with  smoke  and 
burned  on  the  bottom,  which  he  eats  in  solitude, 
recalling  meanwhile  the  family  table  at  home 
in  “God’s  country.”  But  in  time  he  comes 
almost  to  love  the  flavor  of  smoke  in  his  food, 
and  to  miss  it  if  it  be  absent ; at  least,  he  so  per- 
suades himself. 

During  those  early  days  of  housekeeping 
I missed  small  articles  from  time  to  time,  such 
as  a towel,  a writing-tablet,  an  undershirt, 
whose  disappearance  I could  account  for  only 


48 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


on  the  theory  that  my  servant  had  appropriated 
them.  But  lying  awake  one  night,  I discov- 
ered the  real  culprit.  He  came  in  through  the 
open  window  and  passed  noiselessly  across  the 
room ; after  sitting  a moment  in  my  arm-chair 
he  jumped  lightly  upon  the  table  and  began 
regaling  himself  with  bananas.  With  a whoop 
I leaped  out  of  bed  and  made  for  him.  As  a 
small  monkey  escaped  through  the  opposite 
window,  I mentally  apologized  to  my  mucha- 
clio , Celestino.  Though  I had  suspected  him 
wrongfully,  Celestino  misunderstood  the  con- 
sideration which  an  American  habitually  dis- 
plays toward  his  dependents,  and  developed 
habits  which  could  not  be  tolerated  in  a well- 
ordered  household,  so  I was  obliged  to  dismiss 
him.  Raymundo,  the  thirteen-year-old  son  of 
my  neighbor  and  landlord,  desired  to  serve  me 
for  the  sake  of  the  English  he  might  learn; 
and  his  father’s  solicitation  was  so  urgent  that 
I consented.  Though  I had  not  bargained  for 
two  boys,  Raymundo  was  joined  by  his  eleven- 
year-old  cousin,  Francisco,  “for  company”; 
and  these  two  little  fellows  performed  the 
household  tasks  under  my  direction  for  a time, 
and  attended  to  the  semi-weekly  marketing. 

The  markets  of  Nueva  Vizcaya  afford  a 
variety  of  vegetables  such  as  cannot  be  found 


HOUSEKEEPING 


49 


in  most  sections  of  the  Islands;  and  in  so  far, 
we  Americans  were  fortunate  above  our  fel- 
lows. From  their  fields  in  the  mountains  the 
industrious  Igorrotes  bring  down  cabbage- 
heads  the  size  of  a man’s  two  fists  and  Irish 
potatoes  as  large  as  hulled  walnuts.  Other 
products,  such  as  are  raised  elsewhere  in  the 
archipelago,  were  also  to  be  had ; among  these 
were  sweet  potatoes,  squashes,  mustard  greens, 
fresh  onions,  tomatoes  the  size  of  hickory  nuts, 
and  strange  vegetables  esteemed  by  the  na- 
tives; fish,  chickens,  eggs,  luscious  pineapples, 
mangoes  and  bananas,  and  tart  oranges  with 
green  skins.  Bananas  grow  everywhere  in 
profuse  variety  without  cultivation.  They 
differ  greatly  in  size,  color,  texture  and  flavor; 
some  kinds  are  edible  only  when  cooked. 
Dipped  in  a batter  of  rice  flour  and  water  and 
fried  in  cocoanut  oil,  one  variety  is  delicious 
and  has  a taste  resembling  baked  apples. 
These  are  vended  daily  in  the  streets  of  every 
town  and  hamlet  in  the  Philippines.  The 
Igorrote-Irish  potatoes  are  so  small  that  when 
served  boiled  in  their  jackets  it  is  no  inconsid- 
erable task  to  remove  the  skins ; indeed,  if  the 
diner  himself  be  obliged  to  do  this,  the  morsels 
are  necessarily  so  infrequent  as  to  make  the 
meal  most  unsatisfactory.  Hence  it  happened 


50 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


that  I was  obliged  to  have  Raymundo  and 
F rancisco  stand  by  my  side  at  the  dinner  table 
and  peel  my  potatoes  as  I ate  them. 

Besides  these  products  of  the  country,  the 
American  in  the  Philippines  adds  to  his  larder 
from  the  civil  commissary  such  staples  as 
sugar,  tea,  coffee,  soda-biscuit,  cereals,  beans, 
and  rice;  a variety  of  tinned  fruits,  vegetables 
and  meats;  and  pickles  and  butter.  But  in 
the  remote  districts,  in  the  early  days  before 
the  establishment  of  the  civil  commissary,  he 
usually  went  without  these  tinned  provisions, 
even  such  staples  as  sugar,  and  was  obliged  to 
depend  altogether  upon  the  country.  If  in 
such  districts  bread  is  to  be  had  at  all,  it  is  in 
the  form  of  buns,  made  of  rice  or  wheat  flour, 
baked  by  native  bakers,  and  not  very  palatable. 
Thus  it  is  that  all  American  teachers  in  the 
Islands  except  in  Manila  and  the  large  centres, 
eat  boiled  rice  in  place  of  bread,  often  three 
times  a day,  as  the  natives  do.  A dish  of  steam- 
ing hot  rice,  cooked  well  but  dry,  has  a most 
appetizing  odor ; like  bread  it  is  palatable  with 
all  other  kinds  of  food,  and  one  does  not  tire  of 
it  any  more  than  our  people  at  home  do  of 
bread  or  potatoes ; and  it  is  an  excellent  substi- 
tute for  both.  With  fresh  or  tinned  sausages 
or  deviled  ham,  it  makes  a particularly  deli- 


HOUSEKEEPING 


51 


cious  blend.  Rice  and  curry  are  served  twice 
or  three  times  daily  at  all  English  tables  in 
China  and  India — in  families  and  hotels  and  on 
shipboard.  Pity  it  is  that  so  few  American 
families  know  the  value  of  dry-cooked  rice  as 
an  article  of  regular  diet. 

Excellent  rice  is  produced  in  Japan,  but 
nearly  all  of  it  is  exported  to  China,  as  it  is  too 
valuable  a crop  for  the  poor  peasants  them- 
selves to  consume.  They  subsist  principally  on 
millet,  barley  and  beans,  and  are  able  to  aff ord 
rice  only  when  they  are  ill.  Thus  the  Filipinos, 
who  in  normal  times  have  plenty  of  rice  all  the 
year  round,  little  realize  how  fortunate  they 
are,  especially  when  compared  with  the  Japan- 
ese peasantry. 

Less  than  two  months  after  establishing  my 
household  my  arrangements  underwent  a con- 
siderable change  by  reason  of  the  withdrawal 
of  the  military  from  the  province,  for  orders 
had  arrived  for  the  abandonment  of  all  posts 
in  Nueva  Vizcaya,  pursuant  to  the  general 
policy  of  the  government.  Though  the  con- 
ditions had  long  been  peaceful,  and  indeed 
there  had  never  been  much  disturbance  in  that 
region,  the  officers  and  soldiers  believed  that 
the  proposed  change  was  unwise,  anticipating 
that  the  province  would  be  invaded  sooner  or 


52 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


later  by  bands  of  ladrones  from  other  sections; 
and  they  prophesied  that  the  troops  would  be 
obliged  to  return  within  a few  months.  The 
native  people  likewise  opposed  their  going, 
sending  petitions  to  Manila  to  the  general 
commanding,  begging  that  the  order  be  coun- 
termanded; but  it  is  probable  that  they  feared 
the  loss  of  the  patronage  of  the  posts  more 
than  the  onslaught  of  outlaws.  But  the  au- 
thorities in  Manila  knew  best;  the  troops  de- 
parted and  the  conditions  remained  undis- 
turbed. The  provincial  capital  was  removed  to 
Bayombong,  and  I was  left  the  sole  American 
in  Solano.  About  this  time  a young  man, 
a member  of  the  most  prominent  and  wealthy 
family  in  the  town  and  a student  in  the  after- 
noon class,  came  to  me  and  placed  at  my  dis- 
posal a furnished  dwelling  more  central,  roomy 
and  convenient  than  the  one  provided  by  the 
town,  which  had  been  vacated  by  the  military, 
and  which  he  begged  me  to  occupy  without 
rental.  Otherwise  the  house  would  be  vacant, 
he  said,  and  his  uncle,  Don  Sebastiano,  would 
much  prefer  to  have  it  occupied.  I took  some 
days  to  consider;  and  when  I learned  that  the 
young  man  and  his  family  desired  to  have  me 
nearer  so  that  visits  might  be  exchanged  more 
conveniently  and  their  knowledge  of  English 


HOUSEKEEPING 


53 


the  sooner  acquired,  I accepted  their  off  er  and 
moved  into  the  new  house;  and  never  did  I 
regret  doing  so.  They  were  good  people  and 
excellent  neighbors ; and  we  soon  became  warm 
friends. 

My  new  quarters  contained  among  other 
furniture  several  large  marble-topped  tables, 
which  seemed  remarkable  from  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  wagon  road  leading  into  that  region, 
and  that  everything  imported  into  it  must  be 
packed  over  the  mountain  trails  and  passes  on 
the  backs  of  beasts  or  men.  Don  Sebastiano’s 
family  and  two  or  three  others  possessed 
pianos,  and  these,  being  too  large  to  pack  on 
animals,  had  had  to  be  brought  in  at  an  enor- 
mous expenditure  of  human  brawn.  My 
friend  Tomas,  Don  Sebastiano’s  nephew,  came 
often  to  see  me,  accompanied  by  his  cousin 
Ramon,  who  lived  opposite,  and  I returned 
their  visits.  For  their  benefit  we  spoke  to- 
gether in  English,  and,  having  made  some 
progress  with  the  assistance  of  the  soldiers  be- 
fore my  arrival,  they  advanced  rapidly.  It 
was  not  long  until,  owing  to  his  aptitude, 
Tomas  stood  beside  the  newly  arrived  provin- 
cial governor  in  the  presidcncia  and  inter- 
preted his  remarks  to  the  assembled  towns- 
people and  officials.  Tomas  and  Ramon,  on 


54 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


their  part,  helped  me  with  Spanish.  Other 
pupils  and  neighbors  happened  in  frequently 
to  talk  a little,  to  request  some  information, 
or  perhaps  to  look  at  the  illustrations  in 
Harpers  Weekly  which  they  enjoyed  keenly. 
From  these  neighborly  visits  I obtained  prac- 
tice in  Spanish,  in  my  attempts  to  explain  the 
pictures  and  political  cartoons,  and  to  translate 
the  summary  of  the  world’s  news  which  I re- 
ceived daily  by  telegraphic  bulletin.  The 
towns-people  showed  their  appreciation  of  my 
endeavors  to  be  of  use  to  them  by  sending  in 
presents  of  food:  sometimes  it  was  a piece  of 
fresh  goat’s  flesh;  at  other  times  a bunch  of 
bananas,  two  or  three  pineapples,  a fat  pullet 
or  a few  eggs.  Once  a complete  meal  in 
courses  was  brought  over  by  Don  Everisto’s 
little  servant.  Often  I attended  bailes,  wed- 
ding parties  and  family  reunions;  and  thus,  by 
work,  study  and  play,  my  life  in  Solano  was 
made  agreeable  and  interesting  and  I found 
myself  too  busy  to  miss  my  fellow- Americans. 

But  the  mails  were  like  angels’  visits,  both  as 
to  joy  and  rarity;  for  even  under  the  most 
favorable  weather  conditions  six  full  days 
were  required  to  traverse  the  territory  between 
Manila  and  Solano;  and  during  the  season  of 
rains  and  typhoons,  double  that  time  or  more, 


HOUSEKEEPING 


55 


as  had  been  the  case  in  our  own  journey.  In 
those  days,  the  mail  was  carried  by  the  con- 
stabulary; it  was  due  to  arrive  every  two  weeks, 
but  the  time  sometimes  lengthened  out  to  a 
month;  under  such  conditions  the  pleasure  and 
excitement  of  receiving  letters  can  be  better 
imagined  than  told.  My  Christmas  mail — a 
half  sack  of  letters,  packages,  newspapers  and 
magazines — arrived  about  the  middle  of  Feb- 
ruary. A box  of  homemade  confectionery  was 
superlatively  enjoyed,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
there  had  been  no  sugar  in  the  house  for  a 
month ; and  I doled  it  out  to  myself,  miser-like, 
at  the  rate  of  one  piece  after  each  meal,  to 
make  it  last  as  long  as  possible. 

A free  hospitality  exists  on  the  frontier, 
whether  it  be  Montana  or  the  Philippines,  and 
so  it  often  happened  that  one  or  more  Amer- 
icans, officials  of  the  insular  or  provincial  gov- 
ernments or  of  the  army,  passing  through  the 
town,  stopped  at  my  house  for  rest  and  refresh- 
ment; sometimes  for  a chat  or  a meal;  again, 
for  the  night;  and  occasionally  for  several 
days,  as  when  the  burial  corps  of  the  army 
came  to  remove  to  the  home  land  the  remains 
of  the  poor  fellows  who  had  succumbed  to  dis- 
ease or  the  climate  during  the  military  occupa- 
tion. Thus,  one  evening,  when  the  teachers  of 


56 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Bayombong  and  Bagabag  had  joined  me  for 
a supper  of  corned-beef  hash,  there  came  the 
neighing  of  ponies  outside  as  we  were  finishing 
the  meal;  and  going  down  we  found  a major 
of  the  regular  army,  the  governor  of  the  prov- 
ince, the  judge  of  the  court  of  first  instance, 
and  the  commandant  of  the  constabulary;  the 
major  was  on  his  way  to  the  Cagayan  Valley, 
and  the  others  were  accompanying  him  as  far 
as  Solano.  I have  forgotten  what  my  Igorrote 
cook  scraped  together  for  their  meal  besides 
canned  corned  beef ; whatever  it  was  they  en- 
joyed it  hugely,  as  we  all  did  the  smoke  and 
chat  that  came  afterward,  notwithstanding 
the  inconvenience  of  having  to  augment  the 
seating  capacity  by  bringing  in  empty  oil- 
boxes. 

An  account  of  domestic  arrangements  would 
not  be  complete  without  a description  of  the 
manner  in  which  clothing  is  washed  by  the 
natives.  The  lavandero  takes  his  washing  to  a 
ditch  or  the  river  bank,  where,  piece  by  piece, 
it  is  soused  in  the  water,  soaped,  laid  on  a flat 
stone  and  beaten  vigorously  with  a short,  flat 
wooden  paddle.  When  it  has  been  soused, 
soaped,  kneaded  and  beaten  a sufficient  num- 
ber of  times,  it  is  spread  on  the  grass  or  stones 
in  the  sun,  whose  hot  rays  are  probably  as 


HOUSEKEEPING 


57 


effective  for  disinfection  as  the  boiling  process 
of  more  civilized  countries.  The  starch  is  made 
of  rice  flour,  and  the  ironing  is  done  on  the 
house  floor  with  huge  flat-irons  containing  em- 
bers of  charcoal. 

Fernando,  my  lavandero,  lived  beside  the 
large  ditch  which  has  been  mentioned  as  run- 
ning along  one  side  of  the  principal  street  of 
Solano,  and  thither  my  washing  went  weekly, 
and  as  regularly  came  back  done  up  in  a neat 
bundle,  which  Fernando  carried  on  his  head. 
A walk  along  this  canal  is  interesting,  though 
not  always  pleasing  to  a sensitive  person.  The 
width  is  perhaps  six  feet;  there  are  shallows 
and  pools,  and  the  depth  varies  with  the  rain- 
fall from  six  inches  to  three  feet.  One  may  see 
first  a lavandera  squatting  partly  in  and  partly 
out  of  the  water,  washing  clothing  as  has  been 
described.  Her  two  little  children,  innocent  of 
clothing  as  when  they  were  born,  are  playing 
at  the  edge  of  the  stream;  the  boy  is  building 
a dam  and  his  sister  is  helping  by  bringing  him 
stones;  the  sun  can  burn  their  little  bodies  no 
browner  than  they  are  already.  In  front  of 
the  next  house,  where  an  all-day  reunion  is 
going  on  with  music  and  dancing,  a woman 
and  a girl  are  preparing  some  chickens  for 
cooking,  cutting  them  into  pieces  and  washing 


58 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


each  piece  clean  in  the  water.  A short  dis- 
tance farther  on  is  a wide  and  deep  pool  de- 
lightfully shaded  by  a spreading  bamboo;  and 
in  it  are  bathing  three  ungainly  carabao  which 
have  just  come  in  from  the  rice  field  for  the 
thrice-daily  bath.  If  this  bath  be  missed  the 
carabao  cannot  work,  and  may  even  become 
wild  and  unmanageable.  At  the  edge  of  the 
same  pool  a girl  is  washing  the  smoke-black- 
ened olios  in  which  the  daily  rice  is  cooked, 
scrubbing  them  well  with  the  mud  and  sand 
from  the  bottom  until  they  shine  again.  A rod 
away  a flock  of  ducks  is  quacking  and  swim- 
ming, and  some  pigs  stand  belly-deep  quench- 
ing their  thirst.  Here  as  we  go  are  two  more 
lavanderas  working  industriously,  and  a third 
woman  cleaning  some  fish  for  the  coming  meal, 
immersing  them  in  the  stream  as  she  cuts  and 
scrapes  them.  A few  yards  farther  two  geese 
waddle  away  from  the  bank  where  a fourth 
woman  has  just  come  to  bathe.  She  has  draped 
herself  in  a single  colored  sheet,  so  arranged 
that  she  can  complete  her  bath  both  effica- 
ciously and  modestly,  even  though  an  Ameri- 
can Peeping  Tom  pass  that  way.  For  fric- 
tion, instead  of  a wash-rag,  she  uses  a stone 
similar  in  size,  shape  and  roughness  of  surface 
to  a cake  of  “Hamburg  steak.”  Beyond  her 


HOUSEKEEPING 


59 


is  a man  carefully  washing  his  pony.  Then 
there  are  more  carabao , some  men  bathing, 
and  an  old  devotee  of  the  cock-pit  gently  wash- 
ing his  game-cock.  And  next,  can  it  be  true? 
Yes,  that  is  Fernando  washing  my  shirts  in  the 
same  useful  stream.  “But,”  I reason,  as  I pass 
by,  “the  sunlight  will  disinfect  them.”  And 
so  it  did  for  over  three  years,  for  in  all  that 
time  they  were  not  boiled. 

Most  housekeeping  Americans  find  them- 
selves harassed  by  the  general  unreliability  of 
the  native  help.  For  me  the  solution  of  the 
problem  was  easy,  for  the  town  lies  close  to 
the  rancherias  of  the  Igorrotes,  who  make  ex- 
cellent servants.  I employed  as  cook  one-eyed 
Clemente,  who  had  lived  in  the  valley  long 
enough  to  acquire  a Christian  name  and  learn 
to  write.  He  wore  ordinary  Philippine  cloth- 
ing, except  on  wash-days,  when  he  was  obliged 
to  go  back  to  the  breech-clout.  He  cooked 
fairly  well  in  the  Spanish  style,  and  readily 
adopted  what  changes  I suggested  from  time 
to  time,  such  as  using  less  garlic  with  the  fried 
chicken  and  cooking  the  rice  a little  more  thor- 
oughly. But  he  could  not  wean  himself  from 
the  habit  of  using  the  kitchen  floor  for  the  pur- 
poses of  a table  while  preparing  the  food  or 
washing  the  dishes.  He  brought  me  for  a 


60 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


man-of-all-work  a “new-caught”  Igorrote 
from  the  mountains,  a lithe  young  fellow  about 
twenty  years  old,  who,  having  adopted  the 
name  Domingo  for  the  occasion,  presented 
himself  to  me  for  service.  He  appeared  some- 
what abashed,  not  because  his  sole  raiment  con- 
sisted of  a “gee-string,”  but  because  this  was 
his  first  encounter  with  a white  man.  My  eyes 
ran  over  his  satiny,  chocolate-colored  skin,  and 
then  met  his  own ; and  I engaged  him  then  and 
there.  His  wage  was  to  be  six  pesos  a month ; 
and  thus  was  my  family  rounded  out  to  three. 

These  two  men  were  industrious  and  Do- 
mingo was  particularly  so.  Under  Clemente’s 
direction  he  polished  the  hardwood  floors  daily 
with  crushed  banana  leaves,  starting  at  one  end 
of  the  room  and  running  down  the  board  in  the 
floor  to  the  opposite  end  on  all  fours,  a huge 
bunch  of  the  leaves  in  his  hands ; then  back  on 
the  next  board,  and  so  on,  until  he  had  gone 
over  the  entire  floor.  In  a long,  hollow  piece 
of  bamboo  he  fetched  water  from  the  spring, 
five  gallons  at  a time.  He  washed  the  dishes, 
brought  firewood  for  the  kitchen  stove,  went 
on  errands,  and  did  all  these  things  so  well  that 
he  was  presently  promoted  to  serve  at  table, 
which  he  did  in  neat  Igorrote  attire.  As  for 
Clemente,  he  did  the  marketing  and  cooking, 


HOUSEKEEPING 


61 


and  to  his  intense  gratification,  tutored  and 
directed  Domingo.  Obedient  and  reliable  I 
found  these  men.  Although  there  was  not  a 
lock  in  the  house,  I left  it  and  my  possessions 
for  a day  at  a time,  and  once  for  a week,  it 
being  understood  that  one  of  the  men  should 
always  be  there.  Though  the  temptation  would 
have  been  too  great  for  the  average  civilized 
Filipino  servant  to  withstand,  these  faithful 
savages  proved  themselves  absolutely  honest; 
for  they  never  appropriated  even  the  most  in- 
significant article.  Clemente  always  accounted 
for  every  centavo  which  was  intrusted  to  him 
for  the  marketing,  rendering  his  account  in 
writing  in  bad  Spanish,  like  the  following: 


P 

0 

Ocbos* * 

1 gallina 

0 

50 

0 

1 gallo 

0 

40 

0 

huevos 

1 

0 

0 

aros 

0 

50 

0 

sebollas 

0 

20 

3 

vichuelas 

0 

30 

0 

jabon 

0 

20 

0 

camote 

0 

10 

0 

pahan 

0 

20 

0 

Total 

3 

40 

3 

Highly  as  I regarded  my  dependents,  I 
could  not  admire  their  taste  respecting  certain 

* Ocbos  was  Clemente’s  abbreviation  for  octavos,  which  he 
pronounced  octabos. 


62 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


articles  of  food.  Eggs,  of  whatever  age  or 
condition,  were  never  allowed  to  go  to  waste, 
and  the  legs,  feet  and  heads  of  chickens  were 
made  to  yield  whatever  nourishment  they 
might  contain;  but  the  climax  was  capped 
when,  peering  into  a tin  vessel  in  the  kitchen 
one  day  after  my  own  dinner,  I found  that 
Clemente  had  stewed,  and  with  Domingo  was 
preparing  to  eat,  a couple  of  dozen  fine  fat 
beetles,  each  about  as  large  as  a medium-sized 
wild  strawberry.  These  juicy  morsels,  wings 
and  legs  removed,  were  floating  about  in  the 
liquor  in  which  they  had  been  stewed.  Cle- 
mente must  have  cooked  them  as  a substitute 
for  locusts,  which  were  scarce  in  our  part  of  the 
country  that  year. 

Notwithstanding  these  and  other  peculiari- 
ties of  my  servants,  and  the  many  inconve- 
niences and  discomforts  incident  to  tropical 
life  and  a remote  situation,  the  months  I spent 
in  Nueva  Vizcaya  brought  with  them  so  many 
compensations  that  I look  back  upon  my  so- 
journ there  as  replete  with  pleasure  and  profit. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  IGORROTES 

The  Story  of  Umahog — The  Quiangan  Igorrotes — 
Their  Dress — The  Anting-anting — Visitors — A 
Transgressor — Head-hunters  and  Their  Doings. 

Besides  my  two  serving  men,  I had  fre- 
quent opportunity  to  study  other  Igorrotes, 
and  particularly  an  odd-looking  boy  perhaps 
ten  years  old,  living  with  my  neighbors  oppo- 
site; him  I had  been  observing  from  my  win- 
dows ever  since  occupying  my  new  house. 
Ramon  told  me  his  history  one  day.  It  ap- 
peared that  he  had  been  christened  Arturo 
Fuente,  but  that  his  original  name  was  Uma- 
hog. When  a small  child  he  lived  with  his  un- 
civilized parents  in  an  Igorrote  village  called 
Japao,  situated  in  the  mountains  to  the  east  of 
the  Uocos  provinces,  but  many  miles  distant 
from  the  Christianized  Uocano  people.  In  the 
spring  he  used  to  go  to  the  field  with  his 
mother  to  help  her  plant  camotes,  dropping  the 
seed  into  the  hole  as  she  lifted  the  sod  with  a 

wooden  spade.  Sometimes  he  accompanied  his 

63 


64 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


father  when  he  went  to  hunt  the  deer  in  the 
neighboring  ranges.  The  little  fellow  shot 
well  with  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  from  his 
childish  excursions  into  the  near-by  forest  he 
often  brought  home  a monkey,  the  hind  quar- 
ters of  which  made  a succulent  meal  for  the 
family  the  following  day.  Once  he  had  seen 
some  men,  dark-skinned  like  himself,  who  cov- 
ered their  bodies  with  clothing;  these  called 
themselves  Cristianos.  Another  time  he  had 
heard  members  of  a friendly  tribe  of  Igorrotes 
living  to  the  east  tell  his  father  of  three  men 
with  white  skins  whom  they  had  seen;  these 
wore  much  clothing,  encased  their  feet  in  hide, 
and  spoke  a strange  tongue,  terming  them- 
selves frailes. 

In  the  mountains  to  the  north  lived  a tribe 
with  which  Umahog’s  people  were  at  enmity; 
sometimes  the  northern  people  came  down 
unexpectedly  and  killed  some  of  Umahog’s 
friends  and  carried  off  their  heads;  and  then  it 
was  necessary  for  the  young  men  of  the  village 
to  make  reprisals.  Indeed,  Umahog’s  father, 
when  a young  man,  had  taken  a number  of 
northern  heads  and  brought  them  home  to 
Umahog’s  mother  as  an  offering  emblematic 
of  his  prowess ; but  that  was  long  ago,  before 
the  child  was  born. 


THE  IGORROTES 


65 


The  boy  himself  dreamed  of  performing 
such  acts  of  valor  when  he  became  older,  to 
revenge  the  death  of  his  uncle  who  had  been 
killed  by  the  hateful  people  of  the  north ; and 
he  meant  to  bring  the  heads  back  to  his  play- 
mate, Bughan,  and  show  her  how  brave  he  had 
been.  But  one  day,  as  Umahog  lay  dreaming 
of  these  battles  of  the  future,  lo,  the  warriors 
of  the  north  suddenly  descended  upon  the  vil- 
lage and  killed  many  of  the  tribesmen,  among 
them  Umahog’s  father,  and  carried  the  boy 
and  his  mother  away  with  them  to  their  north- 
ern home  as  prisoners.  The  following  day 
they  took  Umahog  from  his  mother  and  set 
out  toward  the  east;  and  after  travelling  three 
days  they  came  to  several  rancherias  of  Igor- 
rotes,  whose  speech  Umahog  could  not  under- 
stand; here  they  left  him,  receiving  from  one 
of  the  strange  Igorrotes  eight  large  coins  of 
silver.  The  heart-broken  child  lived  with  these 
people  what  seemed  to  him  a long  time;  then 
they  took  him  a journey  of  two  days  to  another 
strange  place,  called  by  the  people  Quiangan. 
Here  he  was  left,  and  the  men  who  had  brought 
him  again  carried  away  silver,  this  time  thirty 
•pesos.  He  lived  with  the  kind  people  of  Qui- 
angan almost  a year;  and  here  he  saw  those 
same  strange  white  men  of  whom  he  had  heard 


66 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


in  Japao;  they  lived  together  in  the  convento 
and  went  every  morning  to  the  iglesia  and 
prayed  to  a strange  God  before  many  lighted 
candles. 

Gmahog’s  next  journey  was  to  Solano, 
where  he  arrived  and  wras  offered  for  sale  when 
he  was  about  nine  years  old.  Ramon’s  father 
gave  the  Quiangan  men  ninety  pesos  for  him; 
and  here  he  had  remained  ever  since.  Ramon’s 
mother  took  Umahog  to  the  church,  where  he 
was  christened  Arturo;  and  when  he  under- 
stood the  new  language  he  was  taught  the  cate- 
chism, and  several  prayers,  which  he  could 
repeat  almost  as  fast  as  the  other  boys;  and  he 
learned,  like  them,  to  go  to  church,  kneel  on  the 
floor,  and  cross  himself  at  the  appropriate 
time. 

The  little  Igorrote  was  an  odd  and  pictu- 
resque sight,  whether  he  went  about,  as  was 
sometimes  the  case,  without  any  clothing,  ac- 
cording to  his  former  custom,  or  whether  he 
attired  himself  in  garments  like  those  worn  by 
other  older  children.  On  the  whole,  I think  I 
preferred  him  when  he  wore  the  red  calico 
blouse  and  yellow  calico  knee-trousers ; for  the 
combined  effect  of  these  bright  colors  and  the 
rich  chocolate  of  his  legs  and  other  features 
was  very  picturesque.  Every  morning  I saw 


THE  IGORROTES 


67 


Arturo,  as  he  was  now  called,  drive  the  f amily 
carabao  and  other  cattle  past  my  house  to  the 
pasture,  and  bring  them  back  every  evening. 
Between  times  he  weeded  the  garden,  gathered 
fagots  for  firewood,  fed  the  pigs  and  cleaned 
the  floors  with  banana  leaves ; and  on  Sundays 
he  helped  to  load  the  stock  of  merchandise  on 
the  sled,  yoke  the  carabao  and  drive  to  the  mar- 
ket, so  the  country  people  might  buy.  He  wras 
an  industrious  little  worker  and  seldom  allowed 
the  play  instinct  to  interfere  with  the  business 
in  hand. 

The  child  often  said  that  when  grown  he 
purposed  returning  to  his  native  mountains  to 
find  his  mother  and  to  avenge  his  father’s 
death  upon  the  cruel  people  of  the  north. 
Ramon  told  me  it  was  the  purpose  of  the 
family  to  give  the  boy  an  elementary  educa- 
tion; and  when  he  became  grown  and  should 
wish  to  marry  to  give  him  his  freedom  and  help 
him  to  start  in  life  on  his  own  account;  and  the 
first  part  of  the  plan  was  carried  into  eff  ect  as 
soon  as  the  schools  reopened  after  vacation.  I 
observed  that  the  little  fellow  was  always  well 
cared  for  and  kindly  treated,  exactly  as  were 
the  young  sons  of  the  family.  Would  that  all 
of  the  little  peons  in  the  Philippines  might  fare 
as  well. 


68 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


The  Quiangan  Igorrotes,  whose  rancherias 
are  about  three  days’  journey  north  from  So- 
lano, were  peaceful  and  quiet,  and,  it  was  said, 
they  did  not  make  a practice  of  taking  heads. 
Parties  of  them  came  to  town  every  few  days 
to  labor  or  traffic,  always  passing  in  Indian  file 
along  the  street  in  front  of  my  house.  The 
men  wore  the  ordinary  clout,  which  is  more 
ample  than  is  generally  supposed,  usually 
measuring  more  than  four  yards  in  length  by 
eight  inches  in  width.  The  women  wear  about 
the  loins  a shorter  and  wider  strip,  reaching 
almost  to  the  knees,  and  those  who  frequent  the 
Christian  towns  usually  add  to  this  a scant 
upper  garment.  Both  men  and  women  wrap 
their  shoulders  in  a thin  cotton  mantle  when 
the  weather  is  cool.  These  garments,  all  of 
cotton  yarn  purchased  from  the  Christians,  are 
of  their  own  manufacture.  Similar  clothing 
of  very  soft  and  pliable  bark  is  worn  by  those 
who  live  farther  back  in  the  mountains.  The 
Igorrotes  adorn  themselves  with  ear-rings, 
bracelets  and  anklets  made  of  heavy  brass  wire. 
In  case  of  rain  they  use  raincoats  cleverly 
woven  of  mountain  grasses ; or  if  the  shower  be 
a sudden  one,  a banana  leaf  may  serve  as  an 
umbrella. 

Besides  a spear  and  a bolo,  each  man  carries 


THE  IGORROTES 


69 


suspended  from  his  belt  a bag  or  reticule  of 
heavy  cotton  cloth,  serving  as  a huge  pocket, 
in  which  are  placed  his  pipe,  a finely  carved 
wooden  spoon,  a small  closely  woven  rattan 
purse,  and  such  other  articles  as  the  nature  of 
his  business  requires.  The  rattan  purse  always 
contains  an  interesting  collection  of  divers  and 
sundry  articles  indispensable  to  Igorrote  con- 
tentment, such  as  several  pieces  of  betel-nut 
and  a few  leaves  for  chewing;  a small  cylin- 
drical bamboo  box  holding  the  pulverized  lime 
to  be  mixed  with  the  other  two  ingredients 
named;  some  dried  tobacco  leaves;  a flint  and 
steel  and  a small  ball  of  tree-cotton  for  tinder; 
perhaps  a steel  fish-hook  and  a quantity  of 
twine,  both  of  home  manufacture ; and,  last  to 
be  named  but  of  the  greatest  importance,  a 
smooth  elliptical  pebble,  somewhat  larger  than 
a pigeon’s  egg.  If  it  be  asked  what  the  stone 
is,  the  reply  will  be  that  it  is  an  anting- anting, 
which  means  a charm.  If  more  information  be 
asked,  it  will  be  learned  that  this  charm  is  car- 
ried by  the  men  of  the  mountains  to  preserve 
them  from  bodily  harm,  whether  from  the 
enemy  poising  his  spear  in  ambush,  the  light- 
ning-bolt, or  the  more  subtle  but  no  less  dan- 
gerous sickness  that  the  bad  anitos  send  into 
their  very  huts.  Their  faith  in  the  anting- 


70 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


anting  is  implicit,  but  no  more  so  than  that  of 
the  more  cultured  Malay  who  hangs  scapu- 
laries  around  his  neck,  both  before  and  behind, 
to  prevent  the  approach  of  evil  from  either 
direction. 

The  Quiangan  people  were  never  trouble- 
some. Since  I employed  two  servants  of  the 
tribe,  my  home  presently  became  a kind  of 
headquarters  for  Igorrotes  temporarily  in 
town.  They  came  sometimes  to  sell  me  a spear 
or  a garment  of  their  weaving,  and  at  other 
times  to  visit  Clemente  and  Domingo.  In 
either  case  they  squatted  contentedly  on  the 
kitchen  floor,  chewing  their  betel-nut  and  ex- 
pectorating the  blood-red  saliva  through  the 
interstices  in  the  bamboo-stripped  floor.  Such 
callers  sometimes  remained  several  hours  dur- 
ing the  heated  portion  of  the  day,  and  many 
were  the  times  that  upon  waking  from  my 
siesta  and  going  out  to  the  kitchen  I found 
six  or  eight  clouted  savages  lying  on  the  floor 
sound  asleep.  The  only  alleged  evil-doer  that  I 
ever  heard  of  among  these  people  was  a man 
I once  saw  in  the  calaboso  at  Bayombong;  he, 
poor  fellow,  was  charged  with  having  stolen 
and  eaten  a horse.  Whether  he  was  found 
guilty  of  this  proceeding  I did  not  learn,  as 
I left  the  province  soon  after. 


THE  IGORROTES 


71 


Unfortunately,  the  quiet  people  of  Quian- 
gan  are  not  the  only  Igorrotes  in  the  Solano 
country.  There  are  also  tribes  of  head-hunters, 
who  sometimes  descend  on  a Christian  hamlet 
or  a company  of  travelling  Cristianos.  Indi- 
vidual Filipinos  would  not  travel  in  the  coun- 
try alone;  only  the  fearless  Americanos  ven- 
tured to  do  that;  but  they  were  safe,  for  did 
they  not  carry  huge  revolvers  and  belts  filled 
with  cartridges,  and  was  not  each  and  every 
one  of  them  a sure  shot?  Both  the  wild  men 
and  the  lawless  men  in  the  Philippines  have  the 
utmost  respect  for  firearms  in  American  hands, 
so  well  did  our  soldiers  do  their  work. 

Not  long  after  our  arrival  word  came  that 
the  head-hunters  had  raided  the  barrio  of 
Bone,  a hamlet  belonging  to  the  town  of 
Aritao,  about  eight  miles  west  of  Dupax,  and 
had  burned  a number  of  houses  and  mur- 
dered several  people.  Among  others  who  suf- 
fered was  the  native  school-teacher,  whose 
dwelling  was  destroyed  and  some  of  whose 
family  were  killed.  Notwithstanding  this  be- 
reavement, he  promptly  forwarded  to  me,  as 
supervising  teacher  of  the  province,  a report 
of  the  loss  of  certain  public  property,  to  wit:  a 
first  reader  and  a wooden  ruler,  which,  accord- 
ing to  his  report,  “were  burned  by  the  savage 


12,  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

infidels  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  the 
house  of  him  who  subscribes,”  etc. 

Shortly  after,  in  a barrio  but  three  miles 
from  Solano,  a thirteen-year-old  girl  and  her 
little  brother  went  to  the  field  to  bring  the 
family  carabao  to  the  house.  The  field  abutted 
on  a mountain  which  was  covered  with  timber. 
A moment  after  reaching  the  animal,  the  girl 
observed  a number  of  Igorrotes  running  tow- 
ard them  from  the  forest,  and  immediately 
realized  her  danger.  She  told  her  young 
brother  to  run,  which  he  did,  and  escaped.  She 
jumped  on  the  animal’s  back  in  order  to  save 
it  at  the  same  time  with  herself;  but  the  un- 
wieldy beast  could  not  be  driven  quickly  from 
its  pasturage.  In  another  moment  the  spears 
of  the  savages  pierced  the  girl  through;  they 
cut  off  her  head  and  took  it  up  the  mountain 
slope  with  the  carabao.  The  decapitated  body 
of  the  girl  was  buried  the  next  day  from  the 
parish  church  near  my  home. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  pursue  and  cap- 
ture such  marauding  savages,  for  the  reason 
that  only  they,  who  live  constantly  in  the 
mountains,  can  penetrate  the  jungles  with  any 
degree  of  rapidity;  hence  they  easily  escape 
any  body  of  constabulary  or  soldiers  which 
pursues  them;  and  besides,  even  if  some  band 


THE  IGORROTES 


73 


should  be  overtaken,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
identify  it  as  the  one  which  committed  the 
crime,  unless,  perchance,  the  stolen  property 
were  found  in  its  possession;  for  there  are 
numerous  bands  inhabiting  the  same  district. 
Hence  the  offenders  in  these  raids  were  never 
captured.  But  in  a third  case,  a detachment 
of  the  constabulary  under  the  command  of  a 
native  sergeant  was  unexpectedly  successful. 
The  savages,  taken  by  surprise,  defended  them- 
selves with  spear  and  bolo,  but  ineffectively, 
since  two  or  three  were  shot  and  killed  in  the 
encounter,  and  among  them  the  leader.  As 
ocular  evidence  of  duty  performed  the  com- 
mandant was  presented,  on  the  return  of  the 
detachment,  with  a gunnysack  containing  the 
head  of  the  slain  leader  of  the  band. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  TOWN  FIESTA 

Social  Recreation — Preparations  for  the  Fiesta — 
Another  Baile — The  Procession — Mass — Two 
Dinners  — The  Moro-Moro  — Serenades  — The 
Cock-pit — A Surprise  Party — The  Wild  East 
Show. 

There  is  so  little  opportunity  for  social  rec- 
reation among  the  Filipinos  of  the  provinces 
that  when  an  occasion  does  present  itself  it  is 
entered  into  with  the  greatest  zest.  Ordinarily, 
the  Sunday  mass,  the  market  and  the  cock-pit 
afford  the  only  opportunities  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  the  social  instinct  in  the  small  and  re- 
mote towns.  But  every  town  has  its  patron 
saint,  and  annually  on  the  saint’s  day  there  are 
general  festivities,  sometimes  extending  over 
several  days,  during  which  every  one  keeps 
open  house  and  the  people  from  the  surround- 
ing country  flock  in  to  enjoy  what  is  to  go  for- 
ward, very  much  as  our  own  country-  and 
towns-people  enjoy  their  annual  county  fairs. 

74 


THE  TOWN  FIESTA 


75 


Thus  as  early  as  November  active  preparations 
were  being  made  for  a three  days’  celebration  in 
honor  of  San  Luis  de  Ventran,  the  patron  saint 
of  Solano,  to  take  place  the  latter  part  of  De- 
cember. Those  who  were  to  participate  in  the 
dramas  began  studying  their  lines  and  plan- 
ning their  costumes.  Rehearsals  took  place 
daily  in  the  grass-grown  streets,  and  might 
be  witnessed  by  any  who  wished.  Even  the 
moonlight  nights  were  dedicated  to  practice  in 
the  wide  street  in  front  of  the  presidencia.  A 
large  roomy  stage  of  bamboo,  with  ornate 
canopy,  was  erected  in  the  plaza  in  front  of 
the  church.  Housewives  of  all  stations  made 
preparations  to  fill  their  larders  as  they  would 
not  again  be  filled  until  the  succeeding  festival, 
and  the  excitement  of  preparation  was  felt 
everywhere. 

A few  days  before  the  date  set  for  the  be- 
ginning of  the  festivities  I received  a mimeo- 
graphed invitation  cordially  requesting  my 
presence  at  the  various  functions,  together  with 
that  of  my  “distinguished  family,”  which  at 
that  time  consisted  of  a worthless  Filipino 
muchacho — no  other,  indeed,  than  Celestino. 
Accompanying  the  invitation  was  a pro- 
gramme, of  which  the  following  is  a transla- 
tion: 


76 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


PROGRAMME 

December  Twenty-seventh 

At  12  o’clock,  noon,  a general  ringing  of  the 
bells,  and  the  band  will  play  in  the  atrium  of 
the  parish  church. 

December  Twenty-eighth 

At  5 a.m.  all  the  bands  participating  in  the 
festivities  will  celebrate  reveille;  general  ring- 
ing of  the  bells.  At  8 a.m.,  solemn  mass  in  the 
parish  church,  the  sacred  office  to  be  performed 
by  the  young  father,  curate  of  this  parish;  and 
solemn  procession.  At  9.30  a.m.,  inauguration 
of  the  theatre  with  the  Iloco  comedy,  “Moro- 
Moro.”  At  5 p.m.,  a grand  musical  concert,  in 
which  all  the  organizations  taking  part  in  the 
fiesta  may  join.  An  impartial  judge  will 
award  a premium  of  ten  pesos  to  the  band 
giving  the  best  interpretation  of  the  music 
played.  At  7 p.m.,  theatrical  function,  a com- 
edy in  Gaddan  prose. 

December  Twenty-ninth 

At  8 a.m.,  theatrical  function,  Gaddan 
comedy. 

During  the  evenings  of  the  27th,  28th  and 
29th  both  public  and  private  edifices  will  be 
illuminated. 

Cock-fighting  during  the  three  days  named. 


The  Solano  Band. 


The  Cockpit  at  Solano. 


THE  TOWN  FIESTA  77 

In  due  time  the  bells  clanged,  the  bands 
played,  and  from  all  the  surrounding  towns 
and  country-side  gathered  the  clans,  including 
my  friends,  the  statuesque  Igorrotes.  The 
evening  of  the  27th,  the  ten  Americans  then  in 
the  town — three  army  officers,  two  constabu- 
lary officials,  a veterinary  surgeon  and  we  four 
teachers — joined  the  leading  Filipinos  in  a 
supper  and  baile  at  the  home  of  Don  Vicente. 
The  courses  served  must  have  numbered  fif- 
teen— soup,  roast  chicken,  roast  pork,  cro- 
quettes, fried  chicken,  sausages,  pork  cutlets, 
venison,  roast  beef,  deer  liver,  beef  steak,  arroz 
Valenciano,  with  desserts  and  wines — all  pre- 
pared in  the  Spanish  style.  For  the  dancing, 
the  orchestra  made  excellent  music.  After 
midnight  some  of  the  senoritas  sang  songs, 
both  Spanish  and  Gaddan,  and  the  entire  com- 
pany joined  in  “America”  and  “Home,  Sweet 
Home.” 

The  next  morning,  after  breakfasting  at  the 
home  of  Capitan  Rosario,  one  of  the  princi- 
pales,  we  heard  mass  and  took  part  in  the  pro- 
cession. The  scene  recalled  the  middle  ages. 
Entering  the  church,  we  found  the  procession 
about  to  start.  Long  yellow  candles  were 
placed  in  our  hands  and  we  were  directed  to 
fall  in  by  twos  immediately  behind  the  priest. 


78 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Then,  the  choirs  chanting  and  incense  burning, 
the  bells  ringing  and  the  two  bands  playing, 
the  procession  left  the  church  and  marched 
around  the  rectangular  plaza.  First,  came  a 
boy  bearing  a silk  banner  decorated  with  re- 
ligious devices;  next  the  crucifer,  and  on  either 
side  candle-bearers  holding  aloft  burning  can- 
dles set  in  ornate  silver  candlesticks.  Follow- 
ing them  marched  the  choir  of  men  and  boys, 
chanting,  and  after  these  was  borne  a statue, 
two-thirds  life-size,  arrayed  in  ecclesiastical 
robes,  representing  Santo  Domingo.  The  ped- 
estal on  which  the  image  stood  was  decorated 
with  lighted  candles  and  carried  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  men,  who,  in  common  with  all  others 
assisting,  wore  red  and  white  surplices.  Then 
came  a sacristan  walking  backward  and  wav- 
ing a censer  of  burning  incense  in  front  of  the 
statue  which  followed,  that  of  San  Luis  de 
Ventran,  in  whose  honor  the  service  and  fiesta 
were  celebrated.  This  figure  was  magnificently 
dressed  and  was  surrounded  by  many  lighted 
candles  and  artificial  flowers  in  colored  glass 
vases.  Next  came  the  parish  priest,  in  heavy 
white  robes,  richly  embroidered  with  gold. 
We  Americans  followed  him,  and  behind  us 
marched  in  straggling  procession  the  principal 
personages  of  the  town,  bearing  lighted  can- 


THE  TOWN  FIESTA 


79 


dies.  The  combined  effect  of  the  ringing,  the 
playing  and  the  chanting  was,  to  our  western 
ears,  nothing  but  confusion  and  discord;  but 
it  must  have  been  impressive  to  the  assembled 
peasantry,  for  as  the  procession  passed,  many 
people,  and  especially  women,  kneeled  facing 
it,  and  with  clasped  hands  and  awed  faces 
prayed,  or  told  their  beads. 

Finally  we  passed  back  into  the  church,  and 
the  Americans  were  given  one  of  the  two  seats 
at  the  front  of  the  men’s  side.  Two-thirds  of 
the  floor  space  was  occupied  by  the  women, 
who  knelt  and  sat  on  it  by  turns  during  the 
long  service.  The  remaining  third  was  taken 
up  by  the  men,  who  generally  stood,  but  knelt 
occasionally.  The  services  of  the  church  in  the 
Philippines  are  attended  with  more  ceremo- 
nial than  with  us,  particularly  at  the  time  of 
fiestas.  Upon  this  occasion  of  the  celebration 
of  mass  in  the  Solano  church,  the  presidente 
and  other  municipal  officials  occupied  seats  of 
honor  jointly  with  ourselves.  The  acolytes 
numbered  six  or  eight.  Besides  the  chanting 
of  the  choir,  accompanied  by  orchestra  music, 
a brass  band  played  at  times.  Each  member 
of  the  congregation  held  a lighted  candle  dur- 
ing the  service.  There  was  much  incense- 
burning and  bell-ringing,  and  at  the  elevation 


80 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


of  the  host  the  band  blared  and  the  four  great 
bells  in  the  belfry  clanged  as  if  for  an  alarm. 
Among  the  Spanish-taught  people  this  is 
termed  solemnity. 

At  noon  of  this  second  day  a f ellow-teacher 
and  I went  by  invitation  to  dine  at  the  home 
of  the  principal  native  teacher.  We  were  re- 
ceived with  marked  hospitality.  Although  the 
Filipino  guests,  seated  at  a bare  table,  were 
eating  boiled  rice  and  roast  pork  with  Nature’s 
implements,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
country,  we  two  were  seated  at  a separate  table, 
nicely  laid  with  white  cloth  and  covers  in  Euro- 
pean fashion.  We  were  served  with  a well- 
cooked  dinner  of  beef,  pork,  chicken,  rice,  po- 
tatoes, rice  buns  and  claret,  and  a dessert  of 
shredded  squash  preserve.  We  had  been  in- 
vited also  to  the  official  banquet  given  by  the 
presidente  at  his  residence,  where,  with  many 
others,  we  were  served  again  in  many  courses, 
of  which  we  made  a pretence  of  partaking  lest 
we  give  off ence  by  declining. 

Immediately  after  this  second  repast  we 
went  to  the  open-air  theatre  to  witness  the 
drama.  The  scene  was  laid  in  Spain,  and  the 
play  dealt  with  imaginary  encounters  between 
the  Moors  and  the  Christians  during  the  Moor- 
ish wars.  The  costumes  were  gaudy  and  fan- 


THE  TOWN  FIESTA 


81 


ciful;  the  acting  consisted  in  strutting  about 
the  stage  and  declaiming  what  sounded  like 
blank  verse  in  a monotonous,  unnatural  and 
high-pitched  voice,  with  very  stiff  gestures  and 
little  or  no  facial  expression.  There  were 
nobles  and  warriors,  kings  and  peasants,  and 
particularly  a beautiful  princess,  who  was  cap- 
tured and  held  a prisoner  by  the  infidels  until 
she  was  happily  rescued ; many  were  the  duels 
and  other  combats  with  short  wrooden  spears, 
done  to  music  in  a stately  and  measured,  if  not 
altogether  a realistic,  way.  The  dancing  was 
also  very  pretty,  consisting  as  it  did  of  a rap- 
idly changing  series  of  postures  and  tableaux. 
This  drama  was  given  by  the  Ilocanos  in  their 
own  language;  the  following  day,  the  same 
play  was  to  be  acted  by  the  Gaddanes  in  their 
dialect,  since  otherwise  some  of  the  towns- 
people would  be  unable  to  understand;  and  it 
was  the  occasion  of  a pleasant  rivalry  as  to 
which  people  and  which  of  the  individual  actors 
might  excel  in  the  rendition. 

That  evening  there  was  another  banquete, 
after  which  we  saw  a second  play  of  a different 
character  on  the  stage  in  the  plaza.  Before  this 
play  was  concluded  drowsiness  obliged  me  to 
go  home  to  rest ; but  at  midnight  I awoke  and 
heard  music,  and  out  of  curiosity  to  know  what 


82 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


was  going  forward  I walked  to  the  plaza, 
where  I found  the  band  contest  in  progress. 
This  continued  until  three  o’clock  the  next 
morning,  but  I did  not  remain,  retiring  again 
shortly,  thinking  to  enjoy  the  sweet  sleep  of 
fatigue  the  remainder  of  the  night.  How- 
ever my  friends  disposed  otherwise,  for  I was 
awakened  shortly  by  more  music;  it  was  close 
by — yes,  directly  under  my  bedroom  window 
some  of  the  young  men  were  giving  me  a sere- 
nade. This  took  its  usual  course — several 
selections,  applause  (from  one  lone,  sleepy 
American),  refreshments  passed  by  my  mu- 
chacho,  another  selection,  and  away — they 
down  the  street  and  I to  my  bed.  To  bed,  but 
not  to  slumber;  for  two  additional  serenading 
parties  honored  me  in  the  same  way  that  night ; 
and  by  the  time  I finally  lost  myself  in  sleep, 
the  church  bells  began  to  jangle  for  the  early 
Sunday  mass. 

Although  it  was  Sunday  morning,  the  third 
day’s  festivities  continued  unabated.  First, 
mass  was  celebrated  in  the  church  with  Span- 
ish-Philippine  solemnity.  Immediately  after, 
business  in  the  market  began,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  town;  and  at  the  same  time  the 
theatricals  recommenced  and  continued  all 
day.  In  the  afternoon  a huge  paper  balloon 


THE  TOWN  FIESTA 


83 


was  sent  up,  and  in  the  evening  still  another 
comedy  was  played.  All  day  Sunday  cock- 
fighting  went  on  as  during  the  two  days  pre- 
vious, the  most  prominent  citizens  taking  part 
in  the  sport.  Sometimes  the  jugador  won  and 
sometimes  he  lost;  but  whether  the  rolls  of  sil- 
ver pesos  wrapped  in  paper  increased  or  dimin- 
ished, it  was  all  the  same  to  him.  The  Filipino, 
rich  or  poor,  is  possessed  of  a philosophy  which 
others  might  well  envy;  misfortune,  death,  dis- 
aster— all  are  suffered  without  complaint,  for 
“it  is  the  will  of  God.”  When  misfortune 
overtakes  a favorite  cock  worth  fifty  or  sixty 
pesos,  which  has  been  groomed  and  trained  for 
a year  in  anticipation  of  the  fiesta,  the  owner 
stops  only  to  caress  for  a moment  the  limp  and 
bleeding  bird,  after  which  he  hands  it  to  a little 
servant  to  take  home,  and  pays  his  losses ; then 
apparently  he  forgets  all  about  it  and  con- 
tinues in  the  merriment. 

The  maestro  americano  is  a personage  of 
importance  in  a Philippine  town,  hence  that 
night  I was  favored  by  several  more  serenading 
parties,  while  on  Monday  three  bands  of  music 
from  as  many  different  towns  played  in  the 
street  under  my  windows,  and  a band  of  Igor- 
rotes  with  long  spears  and  wooden  shields 
stopped  and  gave  a representation  of  a war- 


84 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


dance  followed  by  a mock  fight — all  interest- 
ing and  realistic  except  that  no  heads  were 
taken.  That  evening  or  the  next,  I have  for- 
gotten which,  the  American  army  officers  and 
my  Filipino  friends  gave  me  an  old-time  sur- 
prise party,  announcing  their  presence  by 
music  under  my  windows.  They  came  thirty 
strong,  with  lanterns,  musicians  and  refresh- 
ments. Hastily  sending  to  the  neighbors,  I 
was  able  to  borrow  ahnost  enough  benches 
and  chairs  to  permit  of  the  simultaneous  seat- 
ing of  my  guests.  The  music  struck  up  in 
the  house,  and  as  many  as  the  space  permitted 
were  soon  dancing,  while  the  remainder 
smoked  and  chatted,  or  quaffed  that  vile 
American  beer  which  can  be  bought  in  every 
town  in  the  Philippine  Archipelago  at  fifty 
centavos  the  pint  bottle,  and  which,  in  lieu  of 
anything  better,  I was  constrained  to  offer 
to  my  guests.  That  was  the  first  surprise 
party  known  to  Solano,  and  a right  merry  one 
it  was. 

Thus  for  more  than  three  days  and  nights 
the  people  of  the  Solano  country  made  merry. 
And  so  it  was,  too,  that  if  a stranger  had  ar- 
rived in  town  on  the  succeeding  day  he  would 
have  believed  himself  to  be  in  a deserted  vil- 
lage, for  scarcely  a person  was  to  be  seen.  The 


THE  TOWN  FIESTA 


85 


people  had  succumbed  to  Nature’s  demands, 
and  were  asleep. 

To  me  the  most  interesting  feature  of  the 
festivities  was  a representation,  in  a grass- 
grown  side  street,  of  mountain  warfare,  which 
might  very  well  be  styled  a “wild  east  show.” 
It  was  provided  for  the  entertainment  of  a 
number  of  Americans  and  Filipinos,  who  had 
gathered  to  congratulate  a Filipino  gentleman 
of  the  town  upon  his  appointment  as  inspector 
of  constabulary,  and  was  witnessed  from  the 
roomy  windows  of  the  house  wherein  we  were 
gathered. 

The  performance  was  given  in  pantomime 
by  eighteen  of  the  mountain  people,  without 
the  aid  of  costumes  or  properties;  literally 
without  costumes,  for  with  one  exception  the 
performers  were  attired  solely  in  the  usual 
loin-cloth,  resulting  in  a much  more  realistic 
representation  than  could  possibly  be  obtained 
from  any  sort  or  quantity  of  stage  trappings. 
The  opening  scene  represented  three  police- 
men in  temporary  camp  in  the  mountains,  sit- 
ting upon  the  turf  with  their  respective  bolos, 
spears  and  shields  by  their  sides.  They  evi- 
dently discussed  plans  for  the  apprehension  of 
some  marauders,  possibly  carabao  thieves,  of 
whom  they  were  in  quest.  One  of  the  three  was 


86 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


the  sergeant  of  the  detachment,  and  he  alone 
wore  a drab  cotton  uniform  with  blue  trim- 
mings, and  carried  a gun.  In  a few  moments 
a number  of  savages  stealthily  approached 
the  three  from  various  directions,  and  crept 
silently  toward  them  like  snakes  in  the  grass, 
without  attracting  attention.  Suddenly  the 
chief  of  the  band  lets  fly  an  arrow  from  the 
bow  which  he  carries,  which  wounds  one  of  the 
policemen.  His  two  companions  leap  up  to 
defend  themselves,  and  in  a second,  with  wild 
cries,  the  savage  band  is  upon  them.  During 
the  encounter  which  ensues  the  two  unwounded 
policemen  make  their  escape,  necessarily  leav- 
ing their  companion  in  the  toils  of  the  bar- 
barians. These,  in  the  most  vivid  pantomime, 
proceed  to  dismember  the  unfortunate  police- 
man, beginning  with  his  ears,  then  going  on 
to  his  arms  and  finishing  with  his  legs,  mean- 
while tasting  his  blood  with  savage  gusto.  A 
woman  and  her  ten-year-old  boy,  members  of 
the  band,  enjoy  the  proceeding  as  much  as  the 
husband  and  father  and  his  companions.  But 
while  the  bloodthirsty  cannibals  are  engaged  in 
their  gloating,  they  in  turn  are  surprised  by  the 
return  of  the  police-sergeant  with  reenforce- 
ments, who  very  adroitly  have  stolen  upon 
them  in  the  meantime.  During  the  succeeding 


THE  TOWN  FIESTA 


87 


combat  the  tables  are  turned,  the  savages  are 
put  to  rout,  and  the  boy  is  captured.  It  is 
then  found  that  the  dismembered  policeman  is 
not  dead;  he  is  given  assiduous  attention,  and 
by  some  occult  treatment  his  severed  members 
are  restored,  and  he  is  again  sound  and  sane, 
and  the  entire  detachment  departs,  leaving  the 
child  for  dead  under  a spreading  bush.  After 
an  interval  the  supposed  marauders  return  and 
search  the  vicinity ; utilizing  the  sense  of  smell 
as  well  as  of  sight  in  tracking  the  missing  boy, 
they  discover  his  body  prone  upon  the  ground. 
The  frantic  distress  and  grief  of  the  mother 
upon  the  discovery  of  the  remains  of  her  child 
are  depicted  with  such  savage  abandon  as  only 
a woman  of  the  wilds  could  portray.  But  when 
it  proves  that  the  boy  is  only  stunned,  and  he 
is  safe  again  with  his  mother,  the  band  gives 
vent  to  its  delirious  joy  by  a wild  orgy  of  danc- 
ing, in  which  joins  the  little  actor,  whose  flying 
hair  and  blazing  eyes  evidence  the  fiery  excite- 
ment he  feels  in  the  playing  of  his  part.  There 
is  further  play  of  the  same  barbaric  character, 
after  which  it  comes  about  that  after  all  the 
policemen  are  not  in  pursuit  of  that  particular 
band  of  savages,  and  there  is  a reconciliation. 
An  opportunity  for  the  introduction  of  some 
comic  by-play  is  afforded  from  time  to  time, 


88 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


such  as  the  savages’  examination  of  the  ser- 
geant’s gun,  which  goes  off  unexpectedly, 
creating  great  consternation  among  them  and 
almost  killing  one.  The  entertainment  is  con- 
cluded by  a realistic  war  dance  and  sham  battle, 
fought  with  spears  and  shields. 

In  such  manner  do  the  Filipinos  periodically 
relieve  the  tedium  of  life,  which  for  them  con- 
tains much  of  poverty  and  sickness  and  but 
little  of  real  satisfaction  and  joy. 


CHAPTER  VII 


RELIGIOUS  CEREMONIES 

A Curious  Custom — Holy  Thursday— Good  Friday 
— The  Mass — Saluting  the  Cross — Easter  Sym- 
bolism— Fondness  for  Music — Funeral  Proces- 
sions— Weddings. 

In  Roman  Catholic  countries  no  holidays  are 
of  more  importance  or  are  celebrated  with 
greater  ceremony  than  the  last  three  days  of 
Holy  Week  and  Easter  Sunday.  In  Solano, 
on  Wednesday  evening,  Thursday  and  Friday, 
bodies  of  young  boys  paraded  the  streets  with 
various  kinds  of  rattles  and  similar  noise-pro- 
ducing instruments.  If  nothing  else  were  at 
hand,  a number  formed  abreast  and  carried  a 
bamboo  pole  horizontally  in  front  of  them, 
which  they  beat  with  sticks  held  in  the  other 
hand.  The  explanation  given  respecting  this 
custom  was  that  it  was  in  commemoration  of 
the  Jews  reviling  Christ.  Under  the  American 
government  as  during  the  Spanish  regime 
Holy  Thursday  and  Good  Friday  are  legal  as 
well  as  general  holidays.  Formerly  on  these 

89 


90 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


days  vehicles  were  not  allowed  in  the  streets; 
all  business  was  suspended,  even  the  markets 
being1  closed ; the  church  bells  did  not  ring,  the 
call  to  service  being  given  with  huge  watch- 
men’s rattles  temporarily  placed  in  the  belfries. 
Services  in  the  churches  continued  all  day.  The 
dwellings  of  the  principal  families  and  of  all 
others  who  could  afford  it  were  draped  with 
black  bunting.  These  customs  are  yet  un- 
changed, excepting  only  that  the  restless 
American  demands  that  street  traffic  shall  not 
be  interrupted. 

The  morning  of  Good  Friday  I attended 
mass  in  the  Solano  church.  The  acting  presi- 
dents occupied  his  official  chair  of  state  at  the 
front  of  the  congregation.  Two  municipal 
policemen  stood  at  either  side  of  the  altar  steps. 
As  I observed  this  arrangement,  I feared  that 
many  years  would  pass  before  the  people 
would  learn  what  is  meant  by  the  separation 
of  church  and  state.  The  body  of  the  church 
was  thronged,  the  women  comprising  two- 
thirds  of  the  congregation  as  usual.  These 
knelt  on  the  hard  tile  floor  during  the  services, 
settling  down  into  a sitting  posture  at  intervals 
for  relief.  The  men  stood  apart  and  knelt  at 
intervals,  always  carefully  placing  a handker- 
chief on  the  floor  to  prevent  the  soiling  of  their 


RELIGIOUS  CEREMONIES 


91 


white  cotton  trousers,  and  shaking  the  dust 
from  it  upon  rising. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  service  the 
priest  takes  from  a side  altar  a cross,  the  arms 
of  which  are  draped  in  black.  Holding  the 
cross  before  him  toward  the  people  he  removes 
the  covering  slowly,  exposing  one  arm  at  a 
time,  the  while  he  chants  and  the  choir  re- 
sponds. When  the  cross  is  completely  uncov- 
ered he  deposits  it  carefully  on  a straw  mat  in 
front  of  the  main  altar,  the  upper  arm  resting 
on  an  embroidered  pillow.  While  the  chanting 
continues,  he  sits  in  his  chair  at  the  side  and 
removes  his  shoes.  Then  he  walks  on  his  knees 
to  the  cross,  each  arm  of  which  he  devoutly 
kisses,  and  retires.  The  acting  yresidente,  hav- 
ing removed  his  shoes,  then  approaches  the 
cross  in  the  same  manner  and  performs  the 
same  ceremony.  After  him  it  is  repeated  by  a 
very  old  and  very  devout  man.  He  is  followed 
by  the  congregation,  who,  one  by  one,  shoeless 
and  kneeling,  approach  the  cross  and  salute  in 
the  same  way;  but  comparatively  few  men 
come  up.  A tray  by  the  side  of  the  mat  re- 
ceives contributions  of  a coin  or  two  from  those 
who  are  able  to  give ; most  of  the  off erings  are 
large  coppers,  worth  from  a quarter  of  a cent 
upward,  as  nearly  all  the  people  are  poor. 


92 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


The  same  evening,  the  citizens  having 
adorned  their  dwellings  with  lighted  candles, 
lanterns  and  transparencies,  a picturesque  re- 
ligious procession  wended  its  way  through  the 
principal  streets  slowly  and  with  many  stops. 
It  was  made  up  of  the  parish  priest,  several 
statues,  two  chanting  choirs,  a band  of  music, 
and  many  crucifers,  candle-bearers  and  incense 
boys,  followed  by  a large  number  of  the  towns- 
people marching  irregularly  in  two  files  and 
carrying  lighted  candles.  The  first  emblem 
was  a large  wooden  cross  placed  upon  a ped- 
estal borne  on  men’s  shoulders.  After  an  in- 
terval came  an  image,  two-thirds  life  size, 
representing  the  Saviour  bearing  the  cross. 
The  next  representation  was  a very  ornate 
funeral  car,  through  the  glass  sides  of  which 
was  seen  the  image  of  the  crucified  Saviour  as 
He  was  supposed  to  lie  in  the  tomb.  This  was 
followed  by  an  image  of  the  Virgin  draped  in 
mourning.  Every  town  in  the  Philippines,  no 
matter  how  poor,  has  a number  of  images  such 
as  these,  which  are  borne  through  the  streets 
upon  occasions  of  religious  festivals.  The  dis- 
play at  Solano  w^as  comparatively  poor,  since 
larger  and  richer  towns  number  their  images 
by  the  score. 

The  morning  of  Easter  Sunday,  before 


RELIGIOUS  CEREMONIES 


93 


mass,  a pretty  symbolical  representation  of  the 
meeting  of  the  Crucified  Lord  and  the  Virgin 
takes  place.  Usually  a square  tower  fifty  feet 
high  is  erected  in  the  plaza,  with  corner  posts  of 
palm  trees  and  framework  of  bamboo.  Near 
the  top  is  a platform  with  a trap-door  opening 
downward.  This  tower  is  profusely  decorated 
with  palms,  shoots  of  the  delicate  bamboo, 
hangings  and  bunting,  and  more  often  than 
not  it  is  surmounted  by  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
Life-size  figures  of  the  Saviour  and  the  Vir- 
gin, the  latter  covered  by  a heavy  crape  veil, 
are  borne  to  the  tower  by  different  routes, 
while  the  people  assemble  in  the  plaza  round 
about.  Both  images  are  carried  within  and 
beneath  the  tower,  and  all  being  in  readiness 
a small  child  dressed  in  white,  representing  an 
angel  with  wings  and  crown  complete,  is  slowly 
let  down  through  the  trap-door  in  the  platform, 
until  it  hovers,  in  conventional  angelic  attitude, 
over  the  image  of  the  Virgin.  The  dusky 
child-angel  then  grasps  the  veil  and  slowly 
rises  with  it  into  the  symbolical  heaven ; and  at 
the  moment  of  complete  uncovering,  the  Holy 
Mother  recognizes  the  Risen  Lord.  The  im- 
ages are  then  borne  together  to  the  church, 
where  high  mass  is  celebrated.  After  mass 
the  traffic  in  the  market-place  thrives,  the  cock- 


94 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


pit  flourishes  as  of  yore,  and  the  people  make 
merry  with  festivities  and  dancing. 

He  who  has  read  thus  far  will  realize  how 
fond  the  Filipinos  are  of  music.  Never  a town 
so  poor  that  it  has  not  its  band  of  music ; never 
a hamlet  so  poverty-stricken  that  it  has  not  an 
orchestra  of  a few  musicians.  Upon  frequent 
occasion  the  organization,  whatever  it  be,  pa- 
rades the  streets,  for  a consideration  ranging 
from  fifty  cents  or  a dollar  upward,  according 
to  the  service  rendered.  Among  the  Christian- 
ized peoples,  all  important  ceremonies  are  per- 
formed to  music;  and  especially  in  Nueva 
Vizcaya  has  this  custom  a strong  hold.  There 
the  babies  are  christened,  dwellings  are  blessed, 
saints’  days  are  celebrated,  couples  are  married 
and  corpses  are  buried  to  music  of  brass  band 
or  orchestra,  or  both.  Whether  the  function 
be  christening,  wedding  or  funeral,  the  proces- 
sion marches  to  and  from  the  church  with  the 
band,  the  straggling  musicians  barefooted  and 
without  uniforms.  My  feelings  were  shocked 
upon  observing  that  at  some  funerals  the  live- 
liest airs  were  played;  upon  one  occasion,  a 
funeral  procession  wended  its  way  to  the  cem- 
etery to  the  music  of  a popular  song  of  which 
the  burden  is  “There’ll  be  a hot  time  in  the 
old  town  to-night.”  It  is  needless  to  say  that 


RELIGIOUS  CEREMONIES 


95 


the  people,  not  knowing  the  words  of  the  song, 
were  attracted  only  by  the  melody.  In  expla- 
nation of  this  custom,  Tomas  said,  “When  a 
young  child  dies  its  soul  ascends  directly  to 
heaven.  Therefore,  we  are  glad  and  our  music 
is  joyous.  But  when  an  old  person  is  taken, 
he  must  suffer  in  purgatory.  Hence,  there  is 
cause  to  mourn  and  our  music  is  doleful.” 

If  the  occasion  be  a wedding  among  the 
poor  the  bride  and  groom  may  be  seen  walking, 
apart  from  each  other,  in  the  middle  of  the 
street,  in  front  of  the  musicians.  The  bride, 
gorgeous  in  cheap  brocade,  is  accompanied  by 
the  madrinas,  while  the  groom  straggles  along, 
here,  there  or  anywhere,  uncomfortable  in  the 
shoes  which  he  wears,  probably  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  the  low  stiff  hat  of  the  mode  of 
ten  years  previous,  and  ill-fitting  black  cloth- 
ing bought  or  leased  for  the  occasion.  Happy 
will  he  be  when  he  can  dispense  with  these  cum- 
bersome articles  and  enjoy  again  the  normal 
life  of  the  tao.  At  the  festivities  which  always 
follow  during  the  day  at  the  home  of  the 
bride’s  parents,  and  the  gathering  the  succeed- 
ing day  at  the  dwelling  of  the  groom’s  people, 
the  “high  contracting  parties”  are  usually  the 
least  in  evidence  and  the  most  ignored  of  all 
the  assembled  friends.  At  a wedding  party 


96 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


which  I was  invited  to  attend  soon  after  my 
arrival,  having  had  no  previous  acquaintance 
with  either  of  the  families,  I inquired  for  the 
bridal  couple,  desiring  to  offer  my  felicita- 
tions; but  no  one  seemed  to  know  of  their 
whereabouts.  After  dinner,  before  leaving 
for  school,  I asked  for  the  bride  to  bid  her 
adios , when  the  captain  came  up  and  whis- 
pered, “I  should  strongly  advise  you  not  to 
attempt  to  speak  to  the  bride  unless  you  want 
to  be  knocked  down  by  the  groom.”  I believe 
he  exaggerated  the  danger ; however  that  may 
be,  I was  obliged  to  be  content  to  take  leave  of 
the  girl’s  father  in  lieu  of  the  bridal  couple, 
whom  I had  not  seen. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


NORMAL  INSTRUCTION 

The  Task  of  the  American  Teachers — Neighborhood 
and  Civic  Duties — The  Normal  School — Decora- 
tions— Aspirantes — The  Plan  for  Instruction — 
Three  Peoples  and  Languages — Should  English 
be  Taught? — The  Application  of  the  Students — 
Results  of  the  Friars’  Work — Teaching  Chil- 
dren’s Songs — Summary  of  Results. 

The  task  that  confronted  the  American 
teachers  in  the  Philippines  was  not  only  or 
even  mainly  the  personal  instruction  of  the 
children  and  youth  in  English  and  the  ele- 
mentary branches;  at  the  same  time  with  that 
it  was  the  taking  in  hand  of  the  existing  force 
of  native  teachers,  gradually  weeding  out  the 
incompetents  and  filling  their  places,  augment- 
ing the  original  number  and  making  the  entire 
body  into  an  efficient  corps  of  instructors,  im- 
bued with  American  ideals,  trained  in  Amer- 
ican methods  of  teaching  and  using  the  En- 
glish language  as  the  vehicle  of  instruction — 
surely  not  the  work  of  a day  or  a year. 


98 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


But  the  purely  scholastic  duties  did  not  limit 
the  work  of  the  great  majority  of  American 
teachers;  the  self-imposed  tasks  were  often  of 
the  greatest  service  to  the  communities  of 
which  they  were  units.  Besides  the  high 
moral  obligation  of  conducting  himself  so  that 
he  might  be  for  his  community  an  exemplar 
of  that  which  is  best  in  American  civilization, 
it  was  incumbent  upon  the  American  teacher 
to  serve  his  Filipino  fellow-townsmen  in  many 
other  ways.  Thus  he  often  had  occasion  to  ex- 
plain to  the  local  officials  or  the  principales  a 
section  of  the  municipal  code  or  other  statute 
which  might  not  be  plain  to  them,  or  to  discuss 
with  and  advise  them  respecting  some  matter 
of  moment  regarding  which  they  were  in 
doubt.  He  was  usually  a member  of  the  local 
health  board,  charged  with  the  duty  of  guiding 
and  advising  the  Filipino  members  respecting 
that  with  which  they  were  altogether  unfamiliar 
— municipal  sanitation.  He  left  off  school- work 
and  devoted  his  entire  time  to  visiting  the  na- 
tive people  in  their  homes  during  the  epidemic 
of  Asiatic  cholera  which  swept  over  the  Islands 
in  1902,  carefully  teaching  them  how  to  boil 
water  in  contradistinction  to  heating  it,  and  in- 
structing them  what  other  measures  to  take  to 
avoid  contagion.  During  normal  times  he  fre- 


NORMAL  INSTRUCTION 


99 


quently  visited  sick  pupils  and  neighbors  and 
supplied  them  with  medicines  and  particularly 
with  quinine,  which  was  so  scarce  a commodity 
in  the  smaller  towns  that  he  was  usually  the 
only  one  who  possessed  it.  Often  the  sick  or 
their  friends  came  to  his  house  for  medicines 
or  advice — usually  both.  To  the  foregoing 
catalogue  of  services  must  be  added  such  minor 
ones,  usually  taking  the  form  of  recreation,  as 
standing  as  padrino  at  the  baptism  of  infants 
or  at  weddings,  and  taking  part  in  the  festivi- 
ties connected  therewith.* 

*“The  teachers  were  obliged  to  conciliate  the  native  priest  or 
Spanish  friar,  to  prod  a lethargic  municipal  president 'e  and  town 
council  into  action,  and  sometimes  to  go  from  house  to  house 
persuading  the  parents  of  the  children  to  send  them  to  school. 
In  some  cases  . . . they  have  paid  the  salaries  of  their  Fil- 
ipino teachers  when  the  municipal  treasury  was  empty,  and  have 
sent  them  to  the  vacation  normal  institutes,  paying  their  ex- 
penses; have  drilled  and  equipped  boys’  brigades  and  organized 
gala  processions  of  children  to  increase  the  interest  of  the  com- 
munity in  the  schools.  They  have  written  plays  and  staged 
them,  arranged  athletic  contests,  aided  unjustly  oppressed  peas- 
ants to  secure  justice,  fought  bandits,  persuaded  the  natives  to 
build  trails  and  bridges,  exercised  a judicious  influence  in  local 
politics;  in  short,  fulfilled,  officially  and  unofficially,  a variety 
of  functions  foreign  to  the  position  of  a school-teacher  in  Amer- 
ica, but  of  the  utmost  advantage  in  securing  the  loyalty  of  the 
inhabitants  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States,  and  im- 
planting the  ideals  of  western  civilization  among  them. 

“The  work  of  the  teacher  cannot  be  understood  unless  he  is 
thought  of  as  discharging  the  many-sided  functions,  other  than 
religious,  formerly  the  prerogative  of  the  Spanish  friar.  Socially, 


100 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


The  immediate  duty  devolving  upon  the 
American  teachers  of  Nueva  Vizcaya,  after 
the  rice  was  safely  harvested  and  stored,  was 
to  organize  and  conduct  for  the  term  of  one 
month  what  we  termed  a normal  school.  Im- 
mediately after  the  long  vacation  began  two  of 
our  number,  the  men  at  Bagabag  and  Dupax, 
were  constrained  by  their  love  of  travel  and 
adventure  again  to  pass  over  those  tortuous 
trails  and  to  ford  the  mountain  streams  on  a 
visit  to  Manila.  While  there,  the  Indiana  man, 
at  his  own  request,  was  transferred  to  an  office 
position  in  the  bureau,  thus  reducing  our  num- 
ber in  the  province  to  three,  and  leaving  Du- 
pax without  a teacher;  but  the  attractions  of 
the  city  were  not  sufficient  to  seduce  the  New 
Yorker,  who  not  only  came  back  himself  but 
brought  with  him  a pack-train  of  twenty 
ponies  loaded  with  all  sorts  of  school  supplies. 


and  in  his  intellectual  influence,  he  is  the  successor  of  the  man 
who  for  centuries  was  the  controlling  influence  in  these  primi- 
tive communities  of  the  Philippines.  He  has  been  the  quiet 
mediator  of  modem  ideas,  and  far  transcended  the  role  of  a 
mere  pedagogue.  He  has  won  the  affection  and  respect  of  the 
Filipino  people  as,  from  the  nature  of  their  callings,  the  soldier 
and  the  merchant  could  not  do.  If  the  children  of  the  Philip- 
pines had  learned  nothing  from  books,  the  personal  influence 
of  the  American  teacher  would  still  have  justified  his  employ- 
ment.”— Report  of  the  Census  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  vol. 
iii.,  pp.  644-5. 


NORMAL  INSTRUCTION 


101 


such  as  reading  charts,  first  readers,  slates, 
pencils,  straw  blackboards,  crayons  and  a 
variety  of  other  useful  articles,  including  two 
dozen  bright,  beautiful  American  flags. 

Having  made  our  detailed  plans  for  the  con- 
duct of  the  school  and  notified  all  native  teach- 
ers and  others  who  aspired  to  teach  that  they 
must  attend,  we  three  opened  the  school  one 
Monday  morning.  With  the  assistance  of  the 
Solano  native  teachers  we  had  decorated  the 
school-rooms  very  prettily  with  flags,  full-page 
pictures  from  Harper’s  Weekly,  palms  and 
air-plants;  and  we  renewed  the  greens  from 
week  to  week.  This  was  an  object  lesson  which 
was  not  lost.  The  Filipino  is  by  nature  artistic 
and  loves  to  adorn;  thereafter  when  I visited 
schools  I always  found  the  rooms  decorated, 
and  in  many  cases  both  profusely  and  taste- 
fully. Teachers  and  aspirantes  presented 
themselves  from  all  of  the  towns  and  most  of 
the  barrios  of  the  province,  to  the  number  of 
eighty  or  ninety;  but  upon  investigation  we 
found  that  some  of  those  who  claimed  to  he 
aspirantes  were  not  intending  to  teach,  but 
only  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  of 
increasing  their  knowledge  of  English.  These 
we  were  obliged  to  bar,  because  it  was  neces- 
sary that  we  should  devote  our  undivided  ef- 


102 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


forts  to  those  who  desired  to  engage  in  actual 
teaching.  We  should  then  have  a body  from 
which  to  select  the  most  apt  to  fill  the  necessary 
positions ; and  we  cut  the  ninety  down  to  fifty. 

The  plan  was  to  employ  with  these  adult 
students  practically  the  same  methods  which 
we  should  have  employed  with  an  equal  num- 
ber of  children — object  and  action  lessons  for 
the  beginners  and  the  most  simple  elementary 
processes  for  all.  The  object  was  not  so  much 
to  advance  these  normal  students  in  the  several 
branches  as  it  was  to  teach  them  how  to  in- 
struct the  children  later  in  the  year  in  the  be- 
ginnings of  those  branches.  No  other  course 
was  practicable,  indeed,  because  they  under- 
stood so  little  English.  With  such  aims,  hav- 
ing divided  the  normalistas  into  three  sections, 
wre  gave  instruction  from  eight  o’clock  until 
noon  in  English  conversation  and  numbers; 
beginnings  in  nature  study;  geography  and 
Philippine  history — very  elementary;  and  sing- 
ing, drawing  and  calisthenics.  There  were 
practical  talks  upon  school  management  and 
demonstrations  of  methods  of  teaching.  Each 
lesson  was  an  English  lesson,  and  at  the  same 
time  a demonstration  of  proper  methods.  We 
reasoned  that  whatever  we  did  in  that  school 
would  be  closely  imitated  by  the  natives  when 


NORMAL  INSTRUCTION 


103 


they  went  before  their  own  pupils.  For  two 
hours  and  a half  each  afternoon  there  was  a 
practice  class  of  children  in  two  grades,  which 
the  normalistas  taught  in  turn  under  our  ob- 
servation. After  the  dismissal  of  the  children, 
the  American  teacher  in  charge  pointed  out  the 
errors  to  the  individual  Filipino  student  in  as 
kindly  and  sympathetic  a manner  as  was  pos- 
sible. 

An  interesting  fact  in  connection  with  this 
school  was  that  the  fifty  young  men  and 
women  represented  three  different  peoples — 
the  Ilocanos,  the  Gaddanes  and  the  Isanays, 
the  last  named  coming  from  the  Dupax  sec- 
tion. There  was  no  one  language  that  all  could 
understand.  A few  spoke,  read  and  wrote 
Spanish  fluently,  but  these  did  not  number 
more  than  ten;  to  the  others  Spanish  was  as 
strange  a tongue  as  English.*  Hence,  the  an- 
nouncements on  the  bulletin  board,  and  verbal 
announcements  as  well,  had  to  be  rendered  in 
the  three  dialects.  In  that  way  only  could  all 
the  students  be  made  to  understand.  When 

* The  Spanish  language  is  spoken  by  very  few  of  the  Fili- 
pinos— in  the  provinces  certainly  by  not  more  than  three  or  four 
per  cent  of  the  population.  While  Spanish  is  the  tongue  of  the 
Cubans  and  Porto  Ricans,  it  is  not  of  the  Filipinos,  who  com- 
prise more  than  fifty  tribes  or  peoples,  each  with  its  own  Malay 
dialect. 


104 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


one  reflects  upon  these  linguistic  conditions, 
obtaining  in  a very  limited  area  among  the 
civilized  peoples,  leaving  out  of  consideration 
for  the  moment  the  several  other  dialects 
spoken  by  the  non-Christian  tribes  within  the 
same  area,  is  it  not  surprising  that  men  of  edu- 
cation and  character  who  have  the  welfare  of 
the  Filipinos  at  heart  should  object  to  our 
teaching  them  English? 

With  few  exceptions  the  students  were  reg- 
ular in  attendance;  they  applied  themselves 
with  zeal  and  cooperated  in  every  possible 
way  with  our  efforts  to  advance  their  knowl- 
edge and  efficiency.  The  third  week,  a young 
woman  in  attendance,  after  studying  her  les- 
sons at  home  until  midnight,  was  taken  with 
a severe  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs  and  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  school;  and  upon  inquiry 
we  learned  that  several  others  had  complained 
of  chest  pains  due  to  the  unaccustomed  leaning 
over  table  and  desk.  They  are  not  a strong 
people.  As  a rule,  Americans  can  out-walk 
and  out-do  them  without  effort.  About  half 
of  the  students  were  bright  and  quick  to  grasp 
an  idea ; of  the  remainder,  the  greater  number 
'were  naturally  intelligent,  but  slow  at  their 
lessons,  and  a few  were  very  stupid;  the  last 
were  for  the  most  part  middle-aged  barrio 


NORMAL  INSTRUCTION 


105 


teachers,  whose  mental  powers  had  become 
atrophied  by  reason  of  years  of  stagnation. 
To  illustrate:  after  attempting  to  teach  the 
class  of  beginners  for  several  days  respecting 
the  five  races  of  mankind,  the  color  and  name 
of  each,  requiring  them  to  copy  the  lesson  in 
their  exercise-books  and  to  review  it  a number 
of  times,  I requested  a middle-aged  man,  in 
English,  to  tell  me  to  what  race  he  belonged. 
He  appeared  not  to  understand,  even  after 
several  repetitions  of  the  question  in  both 
English  and  Spanish.  I then  had  a fellow- 
student  put  the  question  in  his  own  dialect, 
the  Gaddan.  After  another  repetition,  the 
poor  fellow  stood  up,  looked  at  me  most  pa- 
thetically, scratched  his  head,  and  averred  that 
he  was  an  African.  This  condition  is  due  to  the 
Spaniards — not  to  the  government  of  Spain, 
which  legislated  wisely,  but  to  those  who  ad- 
ministered the  government  in  the  Islands — the 
friars.  While  a free  public-school  system  was 
established  in  1863,  the  schools  were  insufficient 
in  number  and  inadequate  in  every  way.  Or- 
dinarily there  was  but  one  text-book,  a small 
pamphlet,  devoting  most  of  its  forty  pages  to 
the  catechism  and  doctrines  of  the  church,  with 
prayers  and  accounts  of  the  saints.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  pamphlet  contained  catechetical 


106 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


questions  and  answers  upon  grammar,  geogra- 
phy and  history,  and  as  has  been  stated,  these 
were  learned  by  rote.  “Learning  by  doing” 
had  no  place  in  the  Philippine  public  schools 
up  to  the  time  of  the  American  occupation. 

We  paid  particular  attention  to  the  teach- 
ing of  children’s  songs  to  our  students,  which 
they  copied  and  carried  away  with  them  and 
taught  to  their  pupils  in  turn.*  From  “Bald- 
win’s Primer”  we  taught  the  ABC  Song, 
which  later  proved  very  popular  with  the  chil- 
dren. Such  delightful  ways  of  learning  they 
had  never  before  known.  From  the  same  book 
we  adapted  to  our  uses  two  other  primary 
songs,  namely,  “Cherries  Ripe”  and  “Five 
Little  Chickadees.”  Since  cherries  are  un- 
known in  the  Islands,  we  substituted  the  names 
of  Philippine  delicacies,  such  as  sinaput, 
those  delicious  banana-halves  dipped  in  rice- 
flour  batter  and  fried  in  cocoanut  oil,  as  al- 
ready described.  Imagine  with  what  shining 
faces  the  boys  sang : 

Sinaput,  sinaput,  who  will  buy  my  sinaput? 
and  the  girls  responded : 

Sinaput,  sinaput,  I will  buy  your  sinaput. 

* Let  Henry  Savage  Landor  and  others  ridicule  while  they 
may  our  teaching  English  song  and  speech  to  the  Filipino 
children;  the  day  of  these  critics  is  fast  closing. 


NORMAL  INSTRUCTION 


107 


— thus  running  the  gamut  of  food  delicacies. 
Because  the  chickadees  did  not  emigrate  to 
the  Philippines  with  the  Americans  we  were 
obliged  to  seek  a substitute  for  them  also, 
which  we  found  in  the  guruckira  (singular, 
guruck),  small  birds  similar  to  the  American 
chickadees.  Standing  five  little  children  on 
the  floor,  each  in  turn  “flew”  around  the  room 
in  true  kindergarten  fashion,  as  the  practice 
class  sang: 

Five  little  guruckira  peeping  at  the  door. 

One  flew  away  and  then  there  were  four. 
Guruck,  guruck,  happy  and  gay, 
Guruck,  guruck,  fly  away. 

Four  little  guruckira  sitting  on  a tree. 

One  flew  away  and  then  there  were  three. 
Guruck,  guruck,  happy  and  gay, 
Guruck,  guruck,  fly  away. 

— continuing  the  song  until  the  last  little 
guruck  had  flown  to  its  perch.  But  for  reasons 
already  explained,  the  song  was  rendered 
among  the  Isanay  children  in  Dupax  and 
vicinity 

Five  little  palupati  peeping  at  the  door,  etc. 

From  Anna  B.  Tucker’s  collection  of 
“Songs  for  Hawaiian  Children”  we  taught  the 
“Rice  Song,”  changing  the  wording  slightly 


108 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


to  suit  Philippine  conditions.  Because,  as  a 
precautionary  measure,  the  natives  were  not 
allowed  to  possess  firearms,  the  line 

With  our  guns  and  oil-cans  banging  all  the  day 

was  changed  to 

With  our  sticks  and  oil-cans  banging  all  the  day. 

It  may  be  explained  that  the  oil-cans  which 
are  beaten  to  drive  away  the  rice-birds  are 
the  five-gallon  tin  cans  in  which  kerosene  is 
shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  Orient  by  the  Amer- 
ican and  Russian  oil  companies,  and  which, 
empty,  are  but  little  less  useful  to  the  native 
than  are  his  bamboo,  his  rattan  and  his  cocoa- 
nut  tree.  Then  the  “Rice  Song,”  as  adapted, 
ran  as  follows: 

We  are  workers  placing  rice-plants  in  a row ; 

Put  them  under  water,  so  they’ll  quickly  grow. 

Now  the  rice  is  growing  in  the  patch  of  ground, 

See  the  rice-birds  flying  everywhere  around. 

With  our  sticks  and  oil-cans  banging  all  the  day 

Little  birds  are  frightened  so  they  fly  away; 

Water,  soil  and  sunshine  help  to  make  it  grow 

Into  heads  so  golden  wraving  to  and  fro. 

Now  ’tis  time  to  cut  it  with  our  sickles  bright; 

Bind  the  sheaves  together ; what  a pretty  sight! 

To  the  house  now  take  it ; everybody  pound ; 

See,  the  chaff  is  lying  everywhere  around. 


NORMAL  INSTRUCTION 


109 


In  the  bags  we’ll  put  it,  grains  so  white  and  clean ; 

Ship  it  to  Manila  on  the  big  “Naz’rene”; 

Cook  it  for  our  breakfast,  best  of  Nature’s  food; 

Eat  with  fish  and  gulay,  don’t  you  think  it’s  good?* 

From  the  same  attractive  collection,  “The 
Mango  Tree,”  “The  Papaia,”  the  “Cocoanut 
Song,”  and  others  were  taught  later  in  the 
year.  These  proved  very  popular  with  normal- 
istas  and  children  alike,  but  not  more  so  than 
“America,”  “The  Star-Spangled  Banner,” 
and  “Columbia.” 

All  in  all,  the  first  Vizcayan  normal  school 
was  successful.  The  students  had  been  in- 
terested, industrious  and  faithful;  they  had 
learned  enough  to  go  out  and  begin  to  teach 
the  chart,  a little  English  conversation,  writ- 
ing, counting  and  easy  number  work,  and  a 
few  songs;  and  the  more  intelligent  appeared 
to  have  caught  a glimpse  of  the  American  edu- 
cational ideal. 

* The  last  stanza  of  the  “ Rice  Song  ” was  not  used  in  Nueva 
Vizcaya,  an  interior  province,  but  was  taught  later  in  southern 
Luzon. 


CHAPTER  IX 


BARRIO  SCHOOLS 

The  Barrio  System — Wages  of  Native  Teachers — 
Their  Ability  to  Imitate — Supervisory  Work — 
The  Friday  Teachers’  Class — A Visit  to  a Barrio 
School  — The  Siesta  — Domingo’s  Fears  — New 
School-houses — Attitude  of  the  People. 

Nueya  Vizcaya  was  one  of  the  first  prov- 
inces, if  not  actually  the  first,  where  the  barrio 
system  of  schools,  since  extended  to  every  por- 
tion of  the  archipelago,  was  successfully  or- 
ganized and  developed,  under  the  American 
regime.  The  teaching  of  the  children  of  the 
barrios  or  outlying  villages  had  no  place  in  the 
scholastic  system  of  the  Spaniards.  Such 
schools  as  existed  were  accessible  only  to  the 
children  who  lived  in  the  poblacion , or  central 
and  principal  part  of  the  municipality.  It  will 
be  understood  readily  that  the  amount  of 
teaching  which  an  individual  American  could 
do  personally  was  very  little  in  any  commu- 
nity; also  that  a considerable  extension  of  the 

no 


BARRIO  SCHOOLS 


111 


work  would  be  necessary  to  secure  any  ade- 
quate educational  progress  in  the  country. 
Hence,  schools  were  organized  in  four  barrios 
of  Solano,  two  of  Bagabag,  two  of  Bayom- 
bong  and  two  of  Dupax,  in  addition  to  the  cen- 
tral schools  in  the  same  towns,  together  with 
Bambang  and  Aritao;  and  twenty-four  of  the 
normal  students  who  were  deemed  most  apt 
received  official  appointments  as  the  teachers 
thereof,  at  greater  salaries  than  they  had  ever 
before  been  paid.  At  that  time  salaries  were 
fixed  in  Mexican  currency,  worth  the  value  of 
the  silver  as  bullion,  which  was  a little  more  or 
less,  according  to  the  fluctuating  market,  than 
forty-six  cents  gold  per  Mexican  dollar.  The 
principal  teacher  of  Solano,  who  had  been  paid 
$15.00  per  month,  was  reappointed  at  $20.00. 
Two  women  teachers,  who  had  before  re- 
ceived $4.00  and  $6.00,  were  continued  at 
$10.00  per  month  each.  The  male  teacher  of 
Aritao,  who  had  been  content  with  a monthly 
salary  of  $4.25,  was  to  receive  $10.00;  and  a 
few  teachers  of  barrios,  who  had  depended  on 
contributions  of  money  and  rice  from  the  pa- 
trons of  the  school,  were  now  reappointed  at 
regular  salaries  of  $10.00  each.  The  amounts 
named  are  in  Mexican  money. 

The  twenty-four  appointees  returned  to 


112 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


their  homes,  and  each  school  having  been  sup- 
plied with  an  American  flag,  a reading  chart, 
blackboard,  books,  slates,  pencils,  papers,  etc., 
we  all  went  hopefully  to  work  the  following 
Monday  morning.  Little  short  of  astonishing 
is  the  immediate  success  achieved  by  young 
Filipinos  who  go  out  to  teach  for  the  first  time, 
poorly  equipped  as  they  now  are  and  for  some 
time  must  be.  This  results  from  their  ability 
to  imitate  closely  the  methods  which  they  have 
seen  used  by  their  instructors.  Where  the 
young  and  inexperienced  American  would 
partially  fail  by  reason  of  his  independence 
and  originality,  the  little-schooled  Filipino 
succeeds  by  virtue  of  his  faithful  imitation  of 
the  wTays  of  others,  so  that  his  ability  in  this 
respect  works  to  the  advantage  of  the  Philip- 
pine primary  schools. 

Henceforth,  the  work  of  the  American 
teachers  in  Nueva  Vizcaya  was  chiefly  super- 
visory; practically  all  of  their  time  was  spent 
in  the  school-rooms  taught  by  the  natives,  ob- 
serving their  work  and  making  an  occasional 
memorandum;  and  then,  after  the  session, 
offering  suggestions  and  kindly  criticisms.  If 
perchance  the  native  made  a considerable  error 
it  might  be  necessary  to  correct  him  tactfully 
on  the  spot;  or  the  American  might  take  the 


BARRIO  SCHOOLS 


113 


class  for  a few  moments,  or  for  the  remainder 
of  that  period,  and,  correcting  the  error,  teach 
the  lesson  then  under  way  properly,  the  while 
the  regular  teacher  observed  the  difference  be- 
tween the  two  methods.  Thus  the  American 
wras  free  to  do  as  much  or  as  little  personal 
teaching  as  the  circumstances  might  seem  to 
require.  Besides  the  work  in  the  central  school, 
he  visited  each  of  the  barrio  schools  once  a 
week,  and  oftener  if  necessary.  Because  of 
the  distance  of  the  barrios  f rom  the  poblacion , 
ranging  from  two  to  eight  miles,  it  proved  to 
be  altogether  impracticable  for  the  barrio 
teachers  to  join  the  daily  teachers’  class;  hence 
it  was  arranged  to  discontinue  the  latter  and  to 
give  the  children  five  hours’  instruction  instead 
of  four,  on  Mondays,  Tuesdays,  Wednesdays 
and  Thursdays,  and  then  to  dismiss  them  until 
the  following  Monday  morning.  On  Friday 
mornings,  however,  the  barrio  teachers  came 
into  the  pueblo  and  received  instruction  with 
the  teachers  of  the  central  school  for  five  hours, 
or  a little  more.  In  these  Friday  classes  the 
work  begun  during  the  normal  school  was  con- 
tinued and  amplified,  and  applied  to  the  lessons 
which  were  to  be  taught  to  the  children  during 
the  ensuing  week.  Thus  the  work  of  the 
American  teachers  became  more  difficult  at  the 


114  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

same  time  that  it  increased  in  diversity  and  in- 
terest. 

Seven  o’clock  in  the  morning  usually  found 
me  on  the  road  to  one  of  the  Solano  barrios — 
Ibung,  Bintauan,  Aggub  or  Bascaran.  Imag- 
ine a man  once  white  but  now  bronzed  by  the 
sun  stepping  briskly  along  a dusty  tropical 
road  in  the  fresh  morning  air,  with  a stick  in 
one  hand  and  an  open  De  Tornos’s  Method  in 
the  other,  mumbling  the  conjugation  of  an  ir- 
regular Spanish  verb;  a big  army  revolver  in 
leather  holster  suspended  from  a regulation 
belt  filled  with  cartridges — these  to  retain  the 
respect  of  possible  head-hunters;  faithful  Do- 
mingo following  a few  paces  behind,  with  a 
long  staff  to  defend  his  bare  legs  from  the 
attacks  of  dogs,  and  on  his  back  a good-sized 
basket  of  Igorrote  manufacture  containing 
our  lunch  and  a bottle  of  boiled  drinking  wa- 
ter. As  we  approach  the  school  there  appears 
above  a clump  of  bamboo  a burst  of  color 
which  sends  a thrill  through  my  veins,  and  we 
see  floating  in  the  breeze  the  beautiful  Stars 
and  Stripes.  About  the  same  time  a sharp- 
eyed  Brownie  spies  us  down  the  road  and 
immediately  runs  in  to  notify  his  companions, 
who,  although  the  signal  has  not  yet  sounded, 
rush  to  their  seats  in  the  school-room  and,  with 


Ruins  of  Convent  at  Solano;  Schoolhouse  in  Background. 


Native  Teachers  of  Solano  and  Barrios. 


BARRIO  SCHOOLS 


115 


their  teacher,  assume  an  air  of  expectancy. 
Upon  our  arrival  Domingo  sits  down  by 
the  door,  where  he  waits  like  a great,  good 
Newfoundland  dog  until  the  session  is  fin- 
ished. I go  in  and  the  children,  rising  simul- 
taneously, salute  me  with  a noisy  hut  well- 
meant  “G-o-o-t  m-o-r-n-i-n-g.”  I return, 
“Good  morning,  children,”  shake  hands  with 
the  teacher,  place  my  stick  in  a corner,  hang 
my  revolver  and  belt  on  a post,  and  wipe 
the  perspiration  from  face,  head,  neck,  arms 
and  hands.  The  teacher  looks  at  me  inquir- 
ingly, whereupon  I direct  him  to  seat  the  chil- 
dren and  go  on  with  the  daily  work  just  as  if 
I were  not  there.  This  he  finds  very  difficult 
until  he  has  become  more  used  to  the  weekly 
visits;  somehow  he  feels  that  it  is  not  right 
that  he  should  devote  himself  to  the  children 
when  so  important  a personage  as  the  maestro 
americano  is  by.  However,  somewhat  embar- 
rassed, he  calls  the  first  class  and  begins  to  hear 
the  recitation.  Within  a few  moments  the 
teniente  of  the  barrio,  having  heard  of  my  ar- 
rival, appears  in  the  doorway,  and  the  children 
needs  must  rise  again,  sing  out  another  “Goot 
morning,”  and  watch  the  proceedings  between 
the  teniente  and  myself.  We  shake  hands,  and 
I insist  on  his  taking  a seat  by  my  side;  he 


116 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


offers  me  a cigarette,  and  very  probably  a 
little  servant  appears  in  the  doorway  with  a 
tray  bearing  a large  glass  for  drinking,  a bot- 
tle of  export  American  beer  and  a corkscrew. 
All  think  it  odd  that  I decline  the  cigarette  and 
the  beer  until  the  close  of  the  session ; surely  the 
ways  of  the  Americanos  are  strange.  Pres- 
ently the  children  are  again  settled  and  pro- 
ceed with  their  reading  lesson,  the  teniente, 
teacher  and  pupils  all  watching  me  for  signs 
of  approval  or  possible  censure.  For  ten  min- 
utes I listen  to  the  recitation,  occasionally  cor- 
recting some  more  than  ordinarily  gross  error 
of  pronunciation ; and  then  I take  the  class  my- 
self to  drill  its  members  on  the  weak  points, 
and  incidentally  to  give  the  teacher  an  object 
lesson  in  the  handling  of  the  class. 

In  those  early  days  many  of  the  barrio 
schools  were  necessarily  conducted  in  the  dwell- 
ing of  the  teacher  or  of  the  teniente,  in  which 
case  the  household  occupations  went  forward 
simultaneously  with  the  school  work.  F or  ex- 
ample, a woman  may  be  seen  squatting  on  the 
floor  weaving  cloth  at  her  loom,  the  while  her 
baby  lies  asleep  on  the  floor  beside  her;  the  dog 
comes  sneaking  into  the  room  seeking  a place 
in  which  to  lie  down,  but,  his  tail  between  his 
legs,  he  is  immediately  hissed  out;  on  the  por- 


BARRIO  SCHOOLS 


117 


tico,  to  one  side,  the  old  grandmother  is  clean- 
ing the  rice  for  the  coming  meal  by  skilfully 
tossing  it  into  the  air  from  a large  pan-shaped 
bamboo  basket  so  as  to  separate  the  grain  from 
the  chaff,  adroitly  catching  the  former  as  it 
descends  and  allowing  the  latter  to  fall  to  the 
floor.  The  game-cock  stands  in  one  corner  of 
the  room,  pecking  at  the  thong  which  secures 
him  to  the  wall;  and,  although  unsuccessful, 
stopping  occasionally  to  crow  lustily.  A hen 
under  the  house  cackles  up  through  the  open 
slat  floor  the  news  that  she  has  laid  another  egg. 
The  babe  wakes  and  cries,  but  is  soon  hushed 
by  the  sweet  solace  of  its  mother’s  breast.  And, 
meantime,  the  Brownies  go  on  with  their  les- 
sons entirely  unconscious  of  these  interrup- 
tions. I remain  the  entire  session  of  two  hours, 
or  more  if  there  be  no  clock  in  the  house  by 
which  the  teacher  may  time  himself,  and  hear 
the  children  recite,  observe  the  teacher’s  man- 
ner and  method,  watch  the  calisthenics,  and 
hear  the  oftentimes  funny  attempt  at  singing 
a new  song.  After  the  dismissal,  I point  out  in 
detail  several  particulars  in  which  the  teacher 
may  improve  his  work,  encourage  him  with  a 
bit  of  praise,  drink  the  warm  beer  that  has  been 
awaiting  me  these  two  hours,  take  a cigarette, 
shake  hands  with  teniente  and  teacher,  say 


118 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


good-by  to  a few  lingering  children,  and  Do- 
mingo and  I set  out  on  our  way. 

Supposing  the  morning’s  visit  to  have  been 
made  at  Bintauan,  we  now  cut  across  the 
country  toward  Aggub;  it  is  eleven  o’clock 
and  the  sun  is  hot.  Shortly  before  twelve 
we  come  to  the  remains  of  a house,  aban- 
doned because  the  troublesome  hill-men  com- 
mitted too  many  depredations  upon  its  former 
occupants.  The  roof  and  floor  remain,  per- 
mitting us  to  sit  and  lie  down  a safe  distance 
from  the  ground  and  shielding  us  from  the 
shafts  of  the  sun.  With  my  holster  for  a pillow 
I lie  on  my  back  and  enjoy  full  ten  minutes’ 
relaxation;  and  then,  spreading  the  lunch  on 
the  floor  before  me,  devour  some  cold  chicken, 
a hard-boiled  egg,  several  cold  boiled  camotes 
and  a banana  or  two,  after  which  I have  a drink 
of  the  smoke-flavored  water  with  which  Cle- 
mente habitually  supplies  me,  and  am  satisfied. 
While  Domingo  eats  his  lunch,  I settle  myself 
for  an  hour’s  siesta;  he  remains  by  my  side, 
awake  and  alert.  It  was  not,  I think,  until 
after  we  had  taken  our  siesta  at  this  ruined 
house  three  consecutive  times  that  Clemente 
and  Domingo  approached  me  diffidently  one 
evening  after  our  arrival  home,  and  begged 
that  I should  not  again  stop  there;  Clemente 


BARRIO  SCHOOLS 


119 


explained  that  Domingo  had  miedo ; and  when 
I questioned  Domingo,  he  said  that  it  was  a bad 
place;  that  dangerous  Igorrotes  ranged  the 
mountains  near  by,  and  that  some  day  they 
might  attack  us.  It  was  close  by,  they  said, 
that  the  girl  had  been  beheaded  and  the  carabao 
stolen.  I made  light  of  their  fears  at  the  time, 
but  on  sober  second  thought  heeded  their  re- 
quest. After  that  we  ate  our  lunch  nearer 
the  settlement;  sometimes  under  a spreading 
mango  tree  and  again  beneath  the  feathery 
bamboo.  In  either  case  we  were  pretty  sure 
to  have  an  audience  of  from  six  to  fourteen  in- 
terested Filipinos,  who  gathered  around,  not 
in  the  least  troublesome  or  impertinent,  to  see 
how  an  American  might  devour  his  food.  One 
day,  just  as  I had  finished  my  lunch,  the 
teniente  of  the  barrio  came  walking  up  very 
fast  and  entirely  out  of  breath,  with  an  invita- 
tion to  eat  and  rest  at  his  home;  he  appeared 
to  think  it  was  a reflection  upon  himself  and 
his  barrio  that  I should  eat  my  meal  sitting 
under  a tree.  So  I spent  the  remainder  of  that 
noon-hour  peacefully  dozing  on  the  floor  of 
his  dwelling,  the  while  his  favorite  game-cock 
near  my  head  arranged  his  plumage  and  an- 
swered the  challenges  of  his  neighborhood 
rivals. 


120 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


The  road  between  the  barrios  of  Ibung  and 
Bintauan  was  believed  by  the  natives  to  be  the 
most  dangerous;  as  we  traversed  those  four 
miles,  Domingo  continually  looked  toward  the 
range  of  forest-clad  hills  to  the  east,  for  it  was 
thence  that  a descent  of  the  dread  head-hunters 
might  be  expected.  Fortunately  for  us,  but 
unfortunately  for  my  tale,  nothing  of  the  kind 
occurred.  Sometimes  I purposely  arrived  at  a 
school  during  the  session  without  announce- 
ment, and  only  in  one  case  in  Nueva  Vizcaya 
did  I find  a teacher  unfaithful;  that  was  the 
morning  the  maestro  of  Bintauan  overslept. 

This  sketch  pictures  the  barrio  school  as  it 
was  early  in  1902.  From  the  first,  the 
schools  improved  steadily  in  efficiency.  Al- 
though there  were  no  public  funds  for  the  pur- 
pose and  the  people  were  very  poor,  school- 
houses  of  light  material  were  constructed  by 
voluntary  labor  in  several  barrios.  Some  men 
donated  cocoanut  timbers  for  the  frame;  others 
the  bamboo,  or  the  bejuco  for  tying  the  struc- 
ture together;  others,  nipa  for  thatch  for  the 
sides  and  roof.  The  very  poor  donated  one, 
two  or  three  days’  labor  each.  With  the  con- 
sent of  the  town  officials,  the  Solano  central 
school  was  permitted  to  occupy  the  convent  ad- 
joining the  church,  which  had  been  constructed 


BARRIO  SCHOOLS 


121 


originally,  and  restored  after  the  fire,  by  the 
towns-people.  The  presidente  called  for  vol- 
unteer laborers  to  put  it  in  order  and  white- 
wash the  walls;  and  for  several  days  more  than 
a hundred  men  worked  at  it.  At  a short  dis- 
tance, the  scene  bore  a marked  resemblance  to 
Mr.  Cox’s  Brownie  pictures.  The  increase  in 
attendance  was  so  great  that  it  was  found  nec- 
essary to  employ  five  teachers,  each  of  whom 
taught  a room  filled  with  children.  New 
benches  and  desks  were  made  and  others  were 
borrowed;  even  then  many  of  the  children  were 
obliged  to  sit  on  the  floor.  An  excellent  spirit 
animated  pupils,  teachers  and  patrons  alike 
everywhere  in  the  province.  The  attitude  of 
the  people  will  be  partly  appreciated  when  it 
is  stated  that  the  attendance  upon  the  schools 
organized  by  the  government  was  greater,  in 
proportion  to  the  Christian  population,  than 
in  any  other  province  in  the  archipelago,  not 
excepting  Manila. 


CHAPTER  X 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SOLANO 

Orders  for  Transfer — Departure — Illness — Back  to 
Dupax — Generosity  of  the  Presidente — Lack  of 
Physicians — Their  Place  Supplied — In  Solano 
Again — Arrival  of  the  Superintendent — The 
Second  Departure — Difficult  Travelling — The 
Return  to  Manila. 

As  the  time  passed  the  schools  continued  to 
thrive.  Much  there  was  that  was  crude  and  im- 
perfect, particularly  where  the  native  teachers 
had  no  American  instructor  to  counsel  and 
guide  them;  but  we  consoled  ourselves  by  re- 
flecting that  our  schools  were  much  better  or- 
ganized, equipped  and  taught  than  any  the 
province  had  before  known.  Our  division  su- 
perintendent had  promised  to  make  us  a visit 
at  the  earliest  time  possible,  to  which  we  began 
to  look  forward.  Dupax,  Bambang  and  Aritao 
were  without  American  teachers,  and  an  addi- 
tional American  was  needed  in  Solano  so  that 
I might  be  able  to  visit  all  of  the  schools  of 

the  province.  These  additional  teachers  were 

122 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SOLANO 


123 


promised  us  and  we  anticipated  their  arrival 
with  enthusiasm,  planning  for  the  extension 
and  perfecting  of  the  work  already  well  begun ; 
but  as  we  planned,  though  I did  not  know  it, 
my  Solano  days  were  rapidly  drawing  to  a 
close. 

One  day  a telegram  arrived  directing  me  to 
report  in  Manila  for  assignment  to  a supervi- 
sory position  in  southern  Luzon;  and  the  fol- 
lowing day  the  new  teachers  arrived;  two  of 
them  were  to  succeed  me — one  as  supervising 
teacher  of  Solano  and  the  other  as  deputy 
division  superintendent  of  the  province.  A 
week  was  required  in  which  to  turn  over 
the  public  property  in  the  various  schools 
and  make  other  preparations  for  departure, 
after  which,  having  taken  leave  of  my  Amer- 
ican associates  and  Filipino  friends,  I rode 
down  the  green-turfed  street  and  across  the 
thatched  bridge,  turned  in  my  saddle  to  wave 
a final  adios  to  Solano,  and  whipping  up 
the  little  pony,  set  my  face  toward  Manila  and 
the  future.  That  afternoon  I did  not  think  of 
the  saying  about  “the  best-laid  plans  o’  mice 
and  men,”  but  I had  ample  opportunity  to  re- 
call it  during  the  following  weeks.  An  ac- 
count of  the  illness  that  overtook  me  as  we 
camped  one  night  on  a river  bank  under  the 


124 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


stars  may  not  be  without  interest.  I had  been 
ailing  for  two  weeks,  but  believing  the  de- 
rangement was  only  slight,  I had  accepted  the 
invitation  of  the  governor  to  travel  with  him 
and  his  party  as  far  as  Dupax  on  my  way  to 
Manila;  he  was  going  there  to  supervise  a 
municipal  election.  At  Bambang,  half  the  dis- 
tance, I was  obliged  to  avail  myself  of  the  hos- 
pitality of  the  presidente  and  go  to  bed,  while 
the  governor  went  on.  The  next  morning 
I followed  to  Dupax,  where  again  I was  so  ill 
that  I was  forced  to  go  to  bed  at  the  home  of 
the  maestro. 

Nevertheless,  toward  evening,  in  company 
with  a fellow  American  who  was  himself  ill, 
I set  out  on  the  next  stage,  the  difficult  two 
days’  journey  to  Carranglan.  That  night 
I was  seized  with  a violent  illness  and  high 
fever,  which  by  morning  had  so  weakened 
me  that  I could  neither  walk  nor  sit  my  horse. 
At  dawn  my  companion  returned  to  Dupax 
for  assistance,  leaving  me  with  our  cargadores. 
Five  or  six  hours  later  he  came  back  with  four 
men  bearing  a litter — a hammock  strongly 
woven  of  rattan,  supported  by  two  stout  bam- 
boo poles,  the  ends  of  which  rested  on  the  men’s 
shoulders.  Into  this  litter  I crawled,  and  was 
carried  the  eight  miles  back  to  Dupax.  The 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SOLANO 


125 


trail  was  hilly  and  the  task  laborious,  particu- 
larly after  the  rain  began  and  the  road  became 
slippery  with  mud.  The  four  men  removed 
their  camisas  and  plodded  along  faithfully,  the 
rain  beating  down  upon  their  bare  shoulders 
and  backs;  every  few  minutes  they  were 
obliged  to  stop  and  rest,  supporting  their  bur- 
den meanwhile  on  the  four  stakes  they  carried 
for  the  purpose.  A canopy  of  a piece  of  oil- 
cloth had  been  improvised  so  that  I kept  toler- 
ably dry.  I arrived  at  Dupax  shortly  before 
dark,  where  I was  the  sole  American,  since  I 
had  insisted  that  my  companion  continue  his 
journey  to  Manila;  he  was  in  need  of  medical 
attendance,  which  at  that  time  could  not  be  had 
in  Nueva  Vizcaya.  The  presidcnte  came  im- 
mediately to  see  me;  he  not  only  offered  his 
services,  but  ordered  me  carried  into  a vacant 
house — the  best  in  town — of  which  he  wras  the 
owner.  Into  this  he  had  a bed  moved,  which  he 
sent  a servant  to  dress  with  petate,  sheets  and 
pillows;  then  came  a muchacho  to  remain  with 
me  and  do  my  bidding,  and  later  there  arrived 
a caldo  or  broth  of  rice  and  chicken.  In  the 
morning  the  presidente  came  again  to  inquire 
concerning  my  condition  and  needs,  and  he  was 
followed  by  the  maestro.  As  the  day  pro- 
gressed I grew  gradually  worse.  I wished  to 


126 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


send  a note  to  the  governor,  who  had  returned 
to  Bayombong — the  nearest  American — ask- 
ing for  help,  but  I had  not  sufficient  strength 
to  write  it.  As  night  fell  I determined  to  make 
another  effort,  when  by  sheer  force  of  will  I 
pencilled  in  a trembling  and  uncertain  hand  a 
brief  statement  of  my  condition;  and  having 
sent  for  the  presidente , requested  him  to  send 
a messenger  with  the  note  immediately. 

At  eleven  o’clock  it  was  in  the  governor’s 

hands ; he  despatched  it  to  my  successor,  B , 

at  Solano,  who  with  the  Bagabag  teacher 
started  on  horseback  at  midnight  to  come  to 
me,  a distance  of  twenty-one  miles.  In  fording 
the  Magat,  a mile  south  of  Bayombong,  they 
missed  the  ford,  both  were  swept  from  their 
horses  and  the  rapid  current  carried  all  down 
stream  toward  the  dangerous  rapids.  The 
weight  of  their  army  revolvers  and  ammuni- 
tion belts  did  not  make  their  struggles  to  reach 

the  bank  any  easier;  besides,  B clung 

tightly  to  the  hand  valise  containing  medicines, 
which  he  carried.  He  touched  bottom  several 
times,  but  each  time  he  sprang  toward  shore. 
The  two  men  presently  found  themselves  ex- 
hausted but  safe  on  the  bank  of  the  stream 
toward  Dupax;  and  as  fortune  had  it  their 
two  ponies  had  landed  on  the  same  side.  They 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SOLANO 


127 


remounted  and  rode  the  remaining  seventeen 
miles  in  their  wet  clothing,  arriving  at  my  bed- 
side at  five  o’clock  in  the  morning  trembling 
with  cold.  That  day  the  governor  telegraphed 
north  and  south  for  physicians;  none  were 
nearer  than  three  days’  journey  and  they  were 
not  able  to  leave  their  posts.  B had  par- 

tially completed  a course  in  medicine  in  the 
States  and  had  had  practical  experience  in 
nursing  as  well.  My  ailment  was  stubborn  and 
refused  to  yield — continuous  high  fever,  great 
weakness,  nausea,  dysentery— the  most  miser- 
able time  I ever  knew  or  can  imagine.  I could 
take  no  food;  if  I drank  wrater  it  tasted  of 
smoke;  the  taste  of  smoke  was  always  in  my 
mouth,  its  odor  in  my  nostrils— my  system 
seemed  impregnated  with  it — the  identical 
taste  and  odor  of  the  boiled  water  that  I had 
been  drinking  for  six  months  (but  poor  Cle- 
mente was  not  to  blame — we  had  had  no  tea- 
kettle) . 

After  the  third  or  fourth  day  B ’s  treat- 

ment began  to  take  effect,  and  in  a week 
I was  able  to  crawl  into  another  litter  and 
travel  back  to  Solano.  That  week  I lost  thirty 
pounds;  and  convalescence  in  the  tropics  is 
so  slow  that  I was  more  than  four  months  in 
regaining  my  normal  weight.  During  the 


128 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


month  which  elapsed  before  I was  able  to  start 
again  on  my  journey  I was  the  guest  of  my 
successors  in  my  former  home.  My  indebted- 
ness to  them  is  very  great ; to  him  who  endan- 
gered his  life  to  come  to  me,  and  to  whose  in- 
telligent and  tender  care  I unquestionably  owe 
my  preservation,  it  can  never  be  repaid.  And 
that  was  the  way  my  plans  went  “agley”  and 
the  last  week  of  June  found  me  still  in  Solano. 

That  week  our  division  superintendent  of 
schools  arrived  on  the  long-expected  visit  of 
inspection.  Though  I was  very  impatient  to 
be  off  again  to  the  new  field  of  work,  the  slow- 
ness of  my  recovery  had  prevented  my  depar- 
ture. One  day,  as  a test,  I had  ridden  three 
miles  on  horseback,  and  returned  completely 
exhausted;  and  the  superintendent  would  not 
hear  of  my  leaving  then.  But  a week  later  we 
departed  together,  taking  with  us  three  pack- 
ponies  and  their  owners  to  transport  our  ef- 
fects. We  made  the  usual  daily  stages  with  a 
long  rest  each  noon — the  first  night,  Dupax; 
the  second,  a camping  place  in  the  wilderness 
called  Santa  Clara;  the  third,  Carranglan. 
For  the  first  few  days  I was  so  faint  upon  dis- 
mounting for  the  siesta  or  for  camp  at  night 
that  I fell  into  a heap  on  the  ground,  where  I 
remained  while  my  friend,  the  superintendent, 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SOLANO  129 


prepared  the  meal  of  fried  bacon,  Irish-Igor- 
rote  potatoes  boiled  and  mashed  in  their  jack- 
ets, soda  biscuit,  canned  fruit  and  coffee.  The 
savory  food  revived  me  sufficiently  to  enable 
me  to  spread  my  blankets  on  the  ground,  after 
which  sleep  restored  my  strength  for  the  next 
stage.  I should  certainly  not  have  been  able 
to  get  through  without  being  carried  had  it  not 
been  for  the  patient,  considerate  and  kindly 
help  of  my  superintendent.  In  pursuance  of 
the  general  policy  of  concentrating  the  troops 
in  large  centres,  the  American  soldiery  had  left 
Carranglan  and  its  place  had  been  taken  by  a 
company  of  constabulary,  and  here  we  slept  on 
the  floor  of  the  barracks.  The  following  day, 
accompanied  by  a party  of  native  officials,  we 
again  forded  those  twenty-three  streams  and 
duly  arrived  in  San  Jose.  Thence,  my  friend 
continued  south  to  Talavera  while,  after  dis- 
missing the  men  and  pack-horses,  I travelled 
westward  by  army  wagon  and  ccirromata  to  the 
railroad  at  Bautista.  The  hardships  were  then 
past;  but  that  advantage  was  offset  by  the  fact 
that,  my  system  still  very  weak,  I was  in  the 
midst  of  the  Asiatic  cholera,  which  had  been 
raging  in  the  Islands  for  several  months,  but 
which,  because  of  the  remoteness  of  Nueva 
Vizcaya,  had  not  yet  arrived  there.  A score  of 


130 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


new  cases  and  more  than  a dozen  deaths  a day 
was  the  tale  in  Bautista  at  that  time.  But  the 
American  in  the  Philippines,  like  his  Filipino 
brother,  soon  becomes  something  of  a fatalist, 
and  while  he  understands  better  how  to  take 
necessary  precautions  he  soon  loses  his  ner- 
vousness. 

That  night  I slept  in  a nipa  dwelling  owned 
by  the  American  proprietor  of  the  canteen 
where  I was  obliged  to  take  my  meals.  Six  feet 
from  the  open  window  on  the  east  was  a dwell- 
ing abandoned  a few  days  before  because  of  a 
f atal  case  of  cholera  therein ; directly  opposite, 
across  the  street,  there  had  been  a case  the 
previous  week,  and  a few  doors  to  the  west  was 
a third  dwelling  vacated  for  the  same  reason. 
But  the  surroundings  did  not  prevent  my  en- 
joyment of  slumber  that  night,  and  the  fol- 
lowing day  I arrived  in  the  metropolis.  Dear 
old  Manila,  with  its  hothouse  temperature  and 
moisture,  its  familiar  smells,  its  everlasting 
stream  of  carromatas  and  quelises  crossing  the 
Bridge  of  Spain  and  jogging  up  one  side  of 
the  rough-paved  Escolta  and  down  the  other; 
uncomfortable,  delightful  Manila,  with  its 
beds  much  too  soft  and  warm,  its  feasts  of  rich, 
juicy  beefsteaks  and  sweet,  yellow  butter 
spread  upon  toothsome  bread,  and,  best  of  all 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SOLANO 


131 


to  the  man  from  the  provinces,  its  delicious  ice- 
cream— as  much  and  as  often  as  you  care  to 
eat ; altogether  a royal  treat,  and  yet  how  soon 
do  we  provincials  tire  of  it  and  how  gladly  do 
we  again  set  our  faces  country- ward ! 

More  than  a year  after  my  final  departure 
I received  a letter  from  a citizen  of  Solano,  a 
patron  of  the  school  and  a student  of  English 
in  the  adults’  class.  It  said  that,  in  response 
to  petition  and  as  evidence  of  the  appreciation 
in  which  my  services  were  held,  the  municipal 
council,  by  enactment,  had  paid  me  the  compli- 
ment of  naming  one  of  the  principal  streets 
of  the  town  for  me.  So  appreciative  are  the 
Filipinos. 


CHAPTER  XI 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON 

In  Quarantine — En  Route  to  Camarines — The  Bicol 
River — Nueva  Caceres — The  Bicol  People — A 
Peaceful  Province — The  Causes  of  Ladronism — 
Different  Dialects — Rinderpest  and  Surra — 
Other  Evils — The  Asiatic  Cholera — Invocations 
for  Delivery — Malignant  Malaria — Difficulties 
During  Cholera  Times — Isolated  Americans. 

The  old  Bolinao  lay  at  anchor  behind  the 
breakwater  in  Manila  Bay,  hardly  more  than  a 
stone’s  throw  from  the  Luneta;  yet,  in  obedi- 
ence to  quarantine  regulations,  we  had  had  no 
communication  with  the  shore  for  five  days. 
We  were  now  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  med- 
ical inspectors  to  give  us  a clean  bill  of  health, 
and  the  customs  officials  with  clearance  papers, 
before  proceeding  to  ports  in  Masbate  and 
Camarines.  These  delays  were  due  to  the  fact 
that  in  Manila,  too,  the  cholera  was  rampant; 
but,  thanks  to  American  activity,  the  mortality 
was  much  less  than  in  previous  epidemics.  In 

view  of  the  fact  that  hundreds  of  my  fellow- 

132 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  133 

beings  were  laid  low  each  day,  I had  not  much 
minded,  while  at  the  hotel,  a severe  three  days’ 
attack  of  the  dengue,  accompanied  hy  an  erup- 
tion like  measles  over  my  entire  body.  When 
partially  recovered,  having  received  my  in- 
structions, I had  gone  aboard  the  Bolinao; 
and  we  were  impatiently  awaiting  the  expira- 
tion of  quarantine.  The  fifth  day  we  secured 
our  permit  from  the  health  officials,  but  our 
patience  was  further  tried  by  the  customs  peo- 
ple, who  did  not  come  out  until  the  day  fol- 
lowing. But  at  last  we  weighed  anchor  and 
steamed  toward  Corregidor. 

While  the  Bolinao  sailed  under  the  Amer- 
ican flag,  her  officers  were  Spaniards,  as  were 
also  two  of  the  passengers;  one  of  these  was 
returning  south  after  a visit  in  Manila,  ac- 
companied by  his  Filipina  wife  and  mestizo 
children,  and  the  other  was  bound  for  Nueva 
Caceres,  where  he  purposed  opening  a furnish- 
ing store.  There  were  six  or  eight  other  pas- 
sengers, Filipinos  and  Chinese,  who  travelled 
second  class.  Filipinos  composed  the  crew. 
Such  a situation  was  somewhat  akin  to  a jour- 
ney in  Spain,  since  Castilian  was  the  language 
of  the  ship,  only  Spanish  food  and  wine  were 
served  and  Spanish  customs  prevailed.  Thir- 
teen days  after  embarking  and  seven  after  sail- 


134 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


mg  we  found  ourselves  steaming  up  the  Bicol 
River,  a typical  stream  of  the  tropics,  with  a 
wide  extent  of  flat  country  covered  with  a 
beautiful  carpet-like  green  on  either  side,  and 
fine  tropical  foliage  growing  on  the  banks. 
Mt.  Isarog  looms  skyward  first  to  one  side  and 
then  to  the  other  as  the  river  bends  and  winds ; 
the  vessel  sometimes  brushes  against  the  over- 
hanging boughs  of  trees,  and  once  actually 
runs  its  bow  into  the  soft  bank  in  the  endeavor 
to  make  a sharp  turn.  The  wash  disturbs  the 
grasses  at  the  edge  of  the  river  and  constrains 
the  dusky  occupants  of  the  various  bancas  we 
meet  to  hold  tight  to  the  overhanging  bushes 
to  avoid  taking  water  aboard.  Children  run 
out  from  cottages  half  hidden  in  banana  and 
cocoan^t  groves  to  witness  the  miracle  of 
steam  power  and  no  doubt  to  wonder  if  they 
will  ever  be  wealthy  enough  to  voyage  on  a 
vessel  so  grand.  In  a little  more  than  four 
hours  we  have  covered  the  twenty-five  miles  to 
Nueva  Caceres,  and  our  vessel  ties  up  at  the 
wharf. 

Nueva  Caceres,  known  among  the  Bicol 
people  who  inhabit  it  and  the  surrounding 
country  by  the  name  of  N aga,  was  until  lately 
the  largest,  most  important  and  most  prosper- 
ous city  of  southern  Luzon.  The  capital  of  the 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  135 


provinces  of  Camarines  Norte  and  Camarines 
Sur,  which  were  recently  combined  by  the 
Spaniards  for  more  economical  administra- 
tion, it  has  a number  of  solidly  built  govern- 
ment buildings,  a large  cathedral  and  bishop’s 
palace,  and  church  colleges  for  both  sexes ; the 
present  population  is  about  18,000.  Besides 
being  a port  and  the  seat  of  a bishopric,  it  lies 
in  the  midst  of  a rich  agricultural  section, 
which  in  times  past  produced  large  quantities 
of  rice ; but  the  cultivation  of  this  crop  has  been 
practically  abandoned  during  the  last  six  or 
seven  years,  owing  to  the  loss  of  the  carabao 
by  successive  epidemics  of  rinderpest,  followed 
and  interspersed  by  many  other  evils,  so  that 
the  sementeras  have  become  barren  and  the 
people  poverty-stricken.  The  combined  prov- 
inces under  a single  administration  are  known 
as  Ambos  Camarines  and  cover  an  area  of  3,279 
square  miles — as  large  as  Delaware  and  Rhode 
Island  together;  of  this  one-eighth  is  classed 
as  agricultural  land,  the  remainder  being 
mountainous  and  valuable  only  for  forest  and 
— a small  area — for  mineral  products.  Cer- 
tain sections  produce  abaca  or  Manila  hemp, 
the  tree  being  so  similar  in  appearance  to  the 
banana  that  inexperienced  observers  cannot 
distinguish  between  them.  San  Miguel  Bay 


136 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


on  the  east  coast  yields  large  quantities  of  fish 
during  the  southwest  monsoon.  Of  the  civil- 
ized population  of  233,500,  all  are  Bicols  as  far 
north  as  Talisay  in  Camarines  Norte,  where  the 
Tagalog  population  begins.  The  uncivilized 
people  number  only  6,000. 

The  Bicols  are  naturally  a peace-loving  peo- 
ple. Because  of  this  fact  and  the  wisdom  of 
the  American  governors  of  Camarines,  the  en- 
tire province  had  been  orderly  ever  since  its 
pacification  f ollowing  the  insurrection.  It  was 
not  uncommon  for  hemp  merchants  to  ship 
silver  specie  to  the  hemp  districts  by  river,  in 
a banc  a rowed  by  two  or  three  men  without  a 
guard.  When,  on  rare  occasions,  disorder  was 
reported  from  remote  districts,  it  was  always 
found  that  the  marauders  came  from  other 
provinces.  In  the  adjacent  Province  of  Albay, 
indeed,  there  were  numerous  bands  of  ladrones 
led  by  shrewd  adventurers  of  other  tribes,  most 
often  Tagalogs,  who  committed  so  many  dep- 
redations upon  the  Bicol  residents  that  the 
latter  were  virtually  obliged  to  aid  them,  by 
threats  of  punishment  the  direst,  often  carried 
out;  and  for  months  the  conditions  were  dis- 
orderly. But  travelling  was  safe  in  Cama- 
rines. During  more  than  two  years  spent  in 
that  province,  travelling  two-thirds  of  the 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  137 


time  and  frequently  alone  in  the  most  remote 
and  unsettled  districts,  I was  never  molested. 

My  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  people 
and  observation  of  the  conditions  in  various 
provinces  presently  taught  me  that  after  the 
surrender  of  the  leaders  of  the  insurrection  of 
1898,  the  continuance  of  disturbances  in  Albay 
and  some  other  sections  was  due  to  a small 
number  of  shrewd  and  lawless  men,  who  took 
advantage  of  the  fact  that  the  masses  of  the 
people  had  become  habituated  to  disorderly 
conditions  during  years  of  resistance  to  Span- 
ish misgovernment,  and  that  these  were  so 
densely  ignorant  that  they  could  be  gulled  into 
belief  in  any  tale  which  such  leaders  might  wish 
to  invent.  These  robber  chiefs  found  it  easier 
and  more  to  their  liking  to  pose  before  the 
taos  as  patriots,  “popes”  and  leaders  inspired 
by  Heaven  than  to  settle  down  to  peaceful  life 
and  industry.  Gathering  a number  of  be- 
nighted men  about  them,  they  went  into  the 
hills  and  mountains,  where,  in  the  most  inac- 
cessible places,  they  built  temporary  cuarteles; 
thence  they  issued  from  time  to  time,  usually  in 
small  bands,  to  propagate  their  “cause”  and 
levy  contributions  of  rice  and  other  provender 
for  their  subsistence  upon  the  peaceable  Fili- 
pinos. If,  perhaps,  these  demurred,  it  was 


138 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


easy  to  plan  and  execute  a raid  upon  such 
barrios  or  households,  sometimes  carrying  off 
only  the  family  carabao  and  a supply  of  rice, 
but  at  others  killing  and  burning  as  well.  The 
iadrones  being  armed  with  a few  firearms,  the 
peaceable  people  in  the  remote  districts  were 
not  able  to  defend  themselves,  and,  before  the 
forces  of  the  constabulary  could  overtake  it, 
the  band  was  either  hidden  in  the  mountain 
fastnesses  or  scattered  through  numerous 
hamlets  in  the  guise  of  laborers.  There  they 
would  remain  until  another  favorable  oppor- 
tunity presented  itself,  in  the  meantime  play- 
ing upon  the  credulity  of  the  simple-minded 
people  by  telling  them  that  the  American 
troops  were  about  to  be  sent  home  to  the 
United  States  in  order  to  repel  a threatened 
invasion,  and  that  soon  they  would  have  an  op- 
portunity to  rise  and  drive  the  few  remaining 
Americans  from  the  Islands,  and  thereafter 
enjoy  that  vaguely  understood  but  magic  con- 
dition of  independencia — or  some  similar  tale ; 
and  so,  during  the  interim  of  comparative  in- 
activity, by  dint  of  persuasion  or  open  threat, 
they  advanced  their  propaganda  until  they 
were  ready,  with  an  increased  number  of  de- 
luded followers,  to  take  to  pillaging  again. 
In  view  of  the  insurrection  habit  and  such  con- 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  139 


ditions  of  ignorance  and  isolation  as  now  ob- 
tain in  the  Islands,  it  can  hardly  be  thought 
strange  that  the  tao  is  sometimes  so  easily  de- 
ceived and  persuaded  into  disorder.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  surprising  and  creditable  alike 
to  government  and  people  that  there  has  been 
so  little  disorder  as  has  actually  occurred. 

As  I went  from  town  to  town  in  southern 
Luzon,  I learned  that  the  Bicol  dialect  varies 
much.  There  is  what  is  called  Nueva  Caceres 
Bicol,  which  is  quite  different  from  that 
spoken  in  Albay;  and  in  Sorsogon,  farther 
south,  the  speech  is  still  different.  Even  in 
Camarines  Sur,  the  language  differs  in  adja- 
cent towns;  the  Iriga  Bicol  is  not  the  same  as 
that  spoken  at  Nueva  Caceres,  so  that  untrav- 
elled people  of  one  town  have  difficulty  in  com- 
prehending the  like  class  in  the  other;  in  Buhi, 
ten  miles  from  Iriga,  again  the  dialect  differs; 
and  so  it  is  all  through  the  Bicol  country.  No 
other  fact  that  I know  so  strongly  emphasizes 
the  necessity  for  good  roads,  schools,  news- 
papers and  railroads.  In  addition  to  the  ig- 
norance, the  superstition  and  the  brigandage 
which  have  been  mentioned,  amazing  is  the 
catalogue  of  evils  suffered  by  the  Filipino  peo- 
ple during  recent  years.  The  ravages  of  the 
rinderpest  reduced  the  number  of  carabao  in 


140 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Camarines  from  37,769  in  1891  to  7,428  in 
1903;  of  other  cattle,  from  17,682  to  493  during 
the  same  period;  and  the  surra*  had,  in  1903, 
killed  all  the  horses  in  the  province  except  821, 
as  against  21,906  owned  there  eight  years  be- 
fore. Men  who  once  numbered  their  cattle  by 
hundreds  and  thousands  now  count  themselves 
fortunate  if  six  or  eight  remain.  The  loss  of 
the  carabao  has  put  back  the  agriculture  of  the 
Islands  for  twenty  years;  mile  upon  mile  of 
country  which  formerly  produced  rice  now  lies 
idle  because  of  inability  to  plough  it ; and  it  is 
impossible  to  prepare  it  for  seeding  by  hand 
labor  except  in  very  small  tracts.  An  edu- 
cated and  practical  Filipino  gentleman  once 
told  me  that  the  rinderpest  was  the  cause  of 
greater  and  more  irreparable  damage  to  the 
Philippines  than  all  other  evils  combined,  in- 
cluding the  war  and  the  cholera.  The  disease 
continues  to  appear  in  different  localities  from 
time  to  time,  notwithstanding  that  there  is  so 
little  material  for  it  to  work  upon.  Govern- 
ment officials  are  studying  it  and  doing  all  in 
their  power  to  stamp  it  out,  but  with  indiffer- 
ent success  up  to  this  time. 

* It  is  said  that  the  surra  was  not  known  in  the  Islands  pre- 
vious to  1900,  having  been  brought  from  China  in  that  year  by 
the  American  cavalry  returning  from  the  China  campaign. 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  111 


The  locusts  are  a constant  menace.  In  some 
years  they  destroy  the  little  acreage  of  rice  that 
the  people  succeed  in  planting,  with  the  con- 
sequent loss  not  only  of  the  prospective  crop, 
but  of  the  seed  which  they  can  ill  aff ord  to  buy. 
Add  to  these  pests  the  cholera,  which  in  1902 
carried  off  many  of  the  people;  malignant 
malarial  fever,  which  the  following  year  was 
even  more  fatal  than  the  cholera  in  Camarines, 
causing  a death-rate  in  Nueva  Caceres  during 
the  months  of  June,  July  and  August,  of  310 
per  1,000,  which  is  to  say  that  if  the  same  rate 
of  death  had  continued  for  a year,  nearly  one- 
third  of  the  inhabitants  would  have  died ; small- 
pox, which  always  exists;  and  famine,  which, 
notwithstanding  the  distribution  of  rice  by  the 
government,  caused  many  deaths,  and  one  can 
realize  in  part  the  misery  of  the  people. 

The  worst  of  the  cholera  epidemic  had 
passed  in  Nueva  Caceres  before  my  arrival, 
but  sporadic  cases  were  still  very  common.  A 
boy  of  eighteen,  who  had  recently  arrived  to 
attend  the  Provincial  High  School,  was  taken 
with  the  disease  during  my  absence,  in  the 
house  occupied  jointly  by  myself  and  two 
other  teachers,  one  of  whom  remained  by  his 
side  and  faithfully  nursed  him  until  his  death. 
Occasionally,  passing  along  a street,  one  came 


142 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


upon  the  remains  of  a dwelling  which  had  been 
torn  down  after  a cholera  death  and  was  being 
carried  away  piecemeal  to  be  burned.  One 
rainy  evening  at  five  o’clock  an  American 
negro  volunteered  to  take  my  official  mail  to 
a departing  vessel,  and  the  next  morning  I 
wras  informed  that  he  had  been  taken  with  the 
cholera  and  died  at  midnight.  An  American 
woman  wras  so  indiscreet  as  to  use  river  water 
for  cleansing  her  teeth,  and  was  taken  with  the 
disease.  She  lived  alone  in  a small  town  five 
miles  from  the  provincial  capital;  she  received 
daily  visits  from  an  American  physician  and 
was  faithfully  attended  and  nursed  by  her 
Filipino  servants.  Fortunately,  she  recovered. 
There  were  frequent  cases  and  deaths  in  the 
barracks,  notwithstanding  the  strict  oversight 
of  the  officers;  for  the  American  soldier  in  the 
tropics  usually  displays  no  more  discretion  re- 
specting eating  and  drinking  than  a young 
child.  Deaths  among  the  poorer  classes  of 
natives  were  frequent,  in  spite  of  much  that 
had  been  done  to  teach  them  how  to  avoid 
contagion. 

The  custom  of  the  populace  to  safeguard 
itself  against  insidious  attack  of  the  cholera 
was  to  march  through  the  streets  in  procession 
each  night  from  dusk  to  eleven  o’clock  to 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  143 


sacred  music,  bearing  effigies  of  the  Virgin 
and  various  saints,  illuminated  crosses  and 
other  transparencies.  These  processions,  very 
common  among  the  Bicols,  are  made  up  of 
men,  women  and  children,  each  person  carry- 
ing a lighted  candle  and  all  joining  in  chant- 
ing prayers  for  deliverance,  accompanied  usu- 
ally by  volunteer  musicians.  As  they  come 
near,  the  people  in  the  houses  set  lamps  in  the 
open  windows  in  token  of  their  sympathy,  or 
if  very  devout,  arrange  a shrine  upon  the  sill — 
a crucifix  or  a chromo  with  lights  and  sprays  of 
flowers.  Those  marching  stop  here  and  there 
at  temporary  shrines  erected  in  the  streets, 
gaudy  with  bright-colored  decorations  and 
brilliant  with  candles,  before  which  they  kneel, 
reciting  prayers  and  singing  alternately,  after 
which  they  take  up  the  march,  chanting  their 
way  to  the  next  shrine : 

Perdon,  O Dios  mfo,  Dios  mfo,  perdon ! 

Perdon,  Dios  mfo,  perdon  y piedad ! 

The  faith  of  the  people  in  prayer  is  very 
great,  as  was  evidenced  by  the  placarding  of 
the  doors  of  their  dwellings  with  invocations 
against  the  cholera.  The  following  I copied 
from  the  door  of  a house: 


144 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Ave  Maria  purissima,  sin  pecada  concebida, 
Santo  Dios,  Santo  Fuerte,  Santo  Immortal, 
Libranos,  Senor,  de  la  peste  y de  todo  mal. 

Por  vuestras  llagas,  por  vuestra  cruz, 

Libranos  de  la  peste,  a tu  divino  Jesus.* 

The  prevalence  of  malignant  fevers  in  1903 
was  attributed  by  the  people  to  the  long 
drought  which  destroyed  the  growing  crops. 
The  death-rate  in  the  smaller  towns  was  only 
slightly  less  than  in  Nueva  Caceres,  where,  as 
before  stated,  it  was  310  per  1,000.  Since  the 
decline  of  agriculture  the  masses  of  the  people 
are  ill  fed,  and  when  attacked  by  disease  they 
succumb  quickly  because,  already  weakened 
by  hunger,  their  power  of  resistance  is  not 
sufficient  to  withstand  the  ravages  of  fever. 
The  condition  of  famine  prevailed,  notwith- 
standing that  the  government  gave  rice  to  all 
who  would  labor  and  to  some  who  could  not. 

* Hail  Mary,  most  pure,  who  conceived  without  sin. 
Holy  God,  holy  Strength,  holy  Immortal, 

Deliver  us,  Lord,  from  the  pest  and  from  all  evil. 

By  thy  wounds,  by  thy  cross, 

Deliver  us  from  the  pest,  thou  divinq  Jesus. 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  145 


A school  child  in  Magarao  wrote  to  her  for- 
mer teacher:  “I  write  these  lines  because  I can- 
not see  you.  Now,  my  teacher,  my  town  is 
very  hungry.  Is  your  town  hungry?” 

It  is  little  short  of  astonishing  that,  witli 
such  a train  of  misfortunes,  the  carabao  and 
horses  dead,  the  fields  uncultivated,  the  chol- 
era, the  locusts,  drought,  famine  and  fever, 
with  reconstruction  and  a new  system  of  taxa- 
tion, which,  though  light,  is  not  understood  by 
the  people — it  is,  verily,  little  short  of  aston- 
ishing that  there  should  be  so  great  a degree 
of  order  and  progress. 

As  explaining  some  of  the  difficulties  of 
school  work  during  cholera  times,  let  me  re- 
late the  experience  of  a teacher  in  one  of  the 
southern  provinces.  Although  he  had  a par- 
ticularly pleasant  and  sympathetic  way  with 
children  and  with  all  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact,  and  was  a very  capable  teacher  as  well, 
there  was  a marked  decrease  in  his  attendance. 
The  cause  was  due  partly  to  the  town  fiesta  in 
honor  of  the  patron  saint,  celebrated  during 
the  greater  portion  of  one  week ; the  people  of 
that  town  were  more  than  ordinarily  given  to 
the  enjoyment  of  such  festivities,  for  which 
the  active  preparations  took  up  the  entire 
preceding  week,  and  the  week  following  was 


146 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


required  to  rest  and  recover  from  the  celebra- 
tion. But  in  addition  to  this  cause,  the  chol- 
era was  working  its  way  through  the  province, 
and  not  only  threatened  the  town,  but  had  ac- 
tually appeared  therein.  The  attitude  of  the 
parish  priest  toward  the  public  school  was  not 
friendly,  and  he  used  his  powerful  influence 
to  persuade  children  to  leave  it  and  enter  the 
parochial  school  carried  on  under  his  direction. 
He  told  the  people  that  if  they  wished  to  be 
delivered  from  the  cholera,  they  must  attend 
strictly  to  church  affairs  and  send  their  chil- 
dren to  the  church  school,  where  at  that  time 
the  principal  attention  was  given  to  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  religious  processions  which  pa- 
raded the  streets  twice  during  each  day  and 
once  at  midnight,  singing  and  praying  for  de- 
liverance. In  these  processions  the  children 
were  the  principal  participants.  If,  in  such 
cases,  the  question  of  which  school  should  be 
attended  were  left  to  the  children,  or  even  to 
the  f ree  desire  of  the  parents,  there  is  no  doubt 
but  that  they  would  prefer  the  public  school. 
But  when  no  less  a personage  than  the  parish 
priest  ordered  otherwise,  and  at  a time  of  evi- 
dent danger  from  the  cholera,  all  the  attrac- 
tiveness which  the  American  teacher  was  able 
to  throw  into  his  work  was  of  little  avail. 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  147 


Another  incident  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
inconvenience  and  hardship  to  which  one  is 
subject  at  all  times,  and  especially  during 
cholera  times,  in  a town  remote  from  medical 
attendance.  The  American  teacher  in  a coast 
town  had  been  suffering  from  tropical  ulcers, 
which  are  caused  by  exposure  to  wet  and  mud 
and  usually  occur  on  the  legs  below  the  knees. 
He  left  his  station  in  a parao  or  native  sail- 
boat one  Saturday  morning  for  Bulan,  another 
town  thirty  miles  down  the  coast,  where  there 
was  a garrison  of  United  States  troops  and  a 
physician.  The  wind  was  unfavorable,  and  the 
parao  did  not  arrive  off  Bulan  until  Sunday 
morning.  As  they  approached  the  shore  to 
disembark,  they  were  warned  off  by  a native 
guard,  who  informed  them  that  on  account  of 
the  appearance  of  cholera  a strict  quarantine 
was  maintained  and  that  they  would  not  be  al- 
lowed to  land.  The  physician  presently  came 
down  to  the  beach,  however,  and  having 
learned  the  ailment,  prescribed  for  it  and  sent 
the  medicines  out  in  a banca;  and  the  parao 
beat  back  over  the  homeward  course.  That 
afternoon,  in  passing  the  entrance  to  Sorsogon 
Bay,  a severe  squall  capsized  the  craft,  and 
passenger  and  boatmen  were  thrown  into  the 
water.  The  boat  turned  completely  over,  and 


148 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


to  it  they  clung  hour  after  hour  during  that 
night,  until  the  tide  washed  them  upon  a small, 
uninhabited  island,  where  they  remained  with- 
out shelter,  food  or  water  until  the  following 
morning,  when  they  again  embarked  and  set 
out  for  home. 

In  other  respects,  also,  isolation  was  often 
trying.  Another  friend  and  co-worker,  the 
only  American  living  within  a radius  of  fifteen 
miles,  appeared  somewhat  depressed  at  the 
time  of  my  visit,  though  he  maintained  that  he 
was  both  well  and  contented.  But  before  leav- 
ing I learned  that  he  had  received  no  letters 
from  his  home  people  and  friends  for  almost 
two  months,  surely  a sufficient  cause  for  de- 
pression of  spirits.  When  next  I saw  him, 
months  after,  he  told  me  how,  one  Saturday 
morning,  a few  weeks  after  my  visit,  a mes- 
senger from  the  presidencia  had  taken  to  him 
his  mail  which  had  just  arrived  there,  though 
it  had  been  somewhere  in  the  Islands  for 
months.  He  received  more  than  a score  of 
letters,  which,  sitting  by  the  window  he  hun- 
grily devoured.  Oblivious  of  everything  but 
the  messages  from  the  home  land  he  read  and 
read;  and  when  he  finally  finished  and  his 
thoughts  returned  to  his  surroundings,  he  dis- 
covered that  the  day  was  closing  and  that  he 


CONDITIONS  IN  SOUTHERN  LUZON  149 


had  been  without  food  and  drink  since  early 
morning1.  Only  then  did  he  begin  to  realize 
how  cast  down  he  had  been. 

Happily,  American  teachers  are  now  seldom 
called  upon  to  endure  such  privations,  owing 
to  improved  means  of  communication,  to  ex- 
tended postal  facilities,  and  to  the  assignment 
of  English  speaking  Filipino  teachers  to  the 
remoter  stations. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  CAMARINES 

First  American  Schools — Soldier  Teachers — The 
Provincial  High  School — Educational  Revivals — 
The  Daet  Schools — Pili’s  Experience — Bula — 
Congressional  Relief  Fund  Rice — Ideas  of  the 
Degradation  of  Labor — Industrial  Teaching  in 
the  Schools — Other  Lessons — “A  Fatal  Defect” 
— Religious  Instruction. 

Free  public  schools  had  been  established  by 
the  American  military  authorities  in  many  of 
the  Philippine  provinces  as  soon  as  these  had 
become  pacified.  It  appeared  from  the  records 
that,  before  the  establishment  of  civil  govern- 
ment, all  of  the  important  towns  of  Cama- 
rines  had  possessed  American  schools,  super- 
intended by  a first  lieutenant  of  infantry  and 
taught  by  soldiers,  some  of  whom  had  had 
previous  experience  in  the  country  schools  of 
the  United  States.  For  the  first  time  in  his- 
tory did  an  army  thus  convert  the  implements 
of  warfare  into  school-room  paraphernalia  for 

the  benefit  of  the  subdued  people.  The  first 

150 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  CAMARINES  151 


professional  teachers  arrived  in  Camarines 
early  in  the  summer  of  1901,  and  soon  after, 
the  administration  of  the  schools  was  taken 
over  by  the  civil  government.  That  most 
unique  expedition  of  more  than  five  hundred 
teachers  which  sailed  from  San  Francisco  on 
the  transport  Thomas,  in  July,  1901,  reached 
Manila  in  August,  and  thereafter  the  organi- 
zation of  the  insular  school  system  progressed 
rapidly,  so  that,  when  I arrived  in  Camarines 
a year  later,  there  were  flourishing  primary 
schools  in  all  except  the  more  remote  towns, 
taught  by  thirty  American  and  fifty  native 
teachers. 

The  Provincial  High  School  organized  at 
Nueva  Caceres  in  the  early  fall  of  1902  was 
most  successful  from  the  beginning.  Start- 
ing with  a handful  of  young  men  and  women 
students  in  one  of  the  primary  buildings,  it 
soon  occupied  a separate  structure  leased  and 
fitted  up  by  the  province,  and  the  attendance 
increased  daily.  During  the  second  year,  the 
school  was  obliged  to  move  to  a much  larger 
building,  the  students,  all  above  fourteen  years 
of  age,  numbering  over  two  hundred  and  fifty 
and  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  province. 
Knowing  but  little  English,  they  were  first 
organized  in  preparatory  classes,  taking  up 


152 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


the  regular  course  of  study  as  soon  thereafter 
as  they  might  be  able.  Due  to  the  strong 
desire  of  the  native  people  for  schooling  in 
English  for  their  children,  to  the  interest  and 
cooperation  of  the  governor  and  other  officials 
of  the  province,  and  perhaps,  most  of  all,  to 
the  tactful  and  whole-hearted  work  of  the 
principal  and  his  assistants — Americans  all — 
the  school  proved  very  popular  and  efficient. 

One  of  its  pleasant  features  was  the  delight- 
fully cordial  spirit  that  existed  between  the 
members  of  the  faculty  and  the  students, 
which  was  apparent  at  all  times.  Often,  a 
teacher  entertained  the  members  of  one  of  the 
classes  at  her  home,  usually  in  the  afternoon  of 
a Saturday  or  a holiday.  Sometimes  a group 
of  boys,  with  mandolin,  guitar  and  violin,  went 
serenading  the  teachers,  and  at  other  times 
extempore  musicals  were  held  at  the  homes  of 
the  principal  and  the  sujjerintendent.  But  the 
most  joyous  parties  were  those  occasional  ones 
at  the  end  of  the  week,  when  the  faculty  gave 
a baile  to  the  students  in  the  casa-gobierno,  or 
the  student-body  repaid  the  compliment  with 
a like  function.  Cartloads  of  palms  were 
brought  in  and  a committee  of  the  older  boys 
spent  the  afternoon  in  arranging  them,  to- 
gether with  numerous  large  American  flags — 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  CAMARINES  153 


always  effectively  and  tastefully.  Of  bright 
lights,  sweet  music,  smooth  floors  and  simple 
refreshments  there  was  no  lack.  The  teachers 
and  officials  of  the  province  and  of  the  town 
attended  and  joined  in  the  dancing;  and  it 
seemed  that  never  did  young  people  enjoy 
themselves  more  thoroughly  and  more  whole- 
somely than  did  the  students  of  the  Provincial 
School.  Those  occasions  will  be  long  remem- 
bered by  the  Americans  who  took  part ; and  by 
the  Filipino  students  they  will  always  be  re- 
called as  the  merriest  and  happiest  times  of 
their  young  lives.  Such  relations  bore  good 
fruit  in  the  class-room,  where  a spirit  of  ear- 
nestness and  helpfulness  always  existed.  Oc- 
casions for  discipline  were  so  infrequent  as  to 
require  practically  none  of  the  teachers’  time 
or  attention.  The  individual  and  combined 
labor  of  the  members  of  the  faculty  for  and 
with  the  students  made  particularly  for  char- 
acter building  and  the  diffusion  of  those  in- 
fluences which  are  counted  best  in  western  civ- 
ilization; and  the  result  was  felt  throughout 
the  province.  By  1904  the  number  of  pupils 
had  increased  to  three  hundred  and  the  teach- 
ers to  seven,  one  of  whom  was  a Filipina. 

In  some  of  the  municipalities  of  Ambos 
Camarines  the  growth  of  public  sentiment  in 


154- 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


support  of  public  education  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  schools  amounted  to  an  educa- 
tional revival.  Daet,  formerly  the  capital  of 
Camarines  Norte,  was  the  leading  town  in  the 
interest  and  support  given  the  schools;  from 
a single  one  in  the  poblacion  with  two  Amer- 
ican teachers,  two  inefficient  assistants  and  two 
hundred  pupils,  in  two  years  the  number  of 
schools  increased  to  three  in  the  poblacion  and 
three  in  the  barrios,  with  five  American  and 
nine  apt  and  earnest  Filipino  teachers,  and 
almost  nine  hundred  pupils;  and  additional 
school-houses  were  building.  The  town  de- 
voted a large  part  of  its  income  to  improving 
school  buildings,  manufacturing  desks  and 
benches,  and  putting  the  schools  upon  the  best 
possible  footing  as  to  housing  and  equipment. 
There  were  also  two  large  night  classes  for 
adults.  The  teachers,  both  American  and  na- 
tive, were  devoted  to  their  work  and,  as  at 
Nueva  Caceres,  the  most  excellent  feeling  ani- 
mated the  pupils,  the  people  generally  and  the 
officials.  Of  the  new  schools,  one  was  the  Daet 
High  School,  for  pupils  above  fourteen  years 
of  age,  established  as  the  result  of  a specific 
demand  from  the  people  of  Camarines  Norte 
and  particularly  the  citizens  of  Daet ; these  had 
found  the  Provincial  School  at  Nueva  Caceres 


The  Advanced  Primary  School,  Daet. 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  CAMARINES  155 


too  distant  for  their  children,  since  there  is  no 
wagon  road  between  the  places,  and  the  inter- 
island vessels  which  ply  between  the  two  ports 
are  too  infrequent  and  irregular  for  easy  com- 
munication. As  is  to  be  expected,  young  Fil- 
ipino men  and  women  who  are  beginning  the 
study  of  English  dislike  to  place  themselves 
on  the  same  footing  with  eight  and  ten-year- 
old  children  by  entering  their  classes,  hence  the 
age  limit  was  established  as  a requirement  for 
entrance;  but  an  exception  was  made  in  favor 
of  those  slightly  younger  pupils'  whose  pre- 
vious attendance  upon  the  primary  schools  en- 
abled them  to  pass  a prescribed  examination. 
The  Filipinos  set  much  store  by  a name,  so,  as 
in  the  provincial  capital,  the  name  High  School 
was  given  to  the  institution,  although  it  might 
be  several  years  before  the  students  would 
be  able  actually  to  take  up  the  studies  of  the 
high-school  grades.  During  the  first  year  the 
attendance  reached  two  hundred  and  sixty. 

The  small  town  of  Pili,  eight  miles  from 
Nueva  Caceres,  was  another  which  experi- 
enced an  awakening.  Situated  in  the  district 
where  the  main  dependence  of  the  people  was 
the  rice  crop,  when  that  languished  because  of 
the  loss  of  the  carabao,  no  recourse  remained, 
and  during  the  succeeding  vears  the  town 


156 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


went  from  bad  to  worse,  until  it  counted  not 
more  than  half  the  former  population  and  di- 
lapidation became  general.  The  presidente 
and  his  assistants  were  weak  officials,  and 
failed  to  do  the  little  they  might  have  done  to 
improve  the  conditions.  But  finally  the  time 
came  for  the  new  election,  and  the  ablest  and 
most  progressive  man  in  the  town  was  chosen 
presidente  for  the  new  term  of  two  years. 
Notwithstanding  that  the  municipality  was  so. 
poor  that  the  combined  salaries  of  the  officials 
were  less  than  forty  pesos  (twenty  dollars)  a 
month,  the  new  presidente  began  a campaign 
of  improvement.  By  means  of  twenty  sacks 
of  rice  donated  by  the  government  from  the 
relief  fund  voted  by  the  United  States  Con- 
gress, the  large  frame  presidencia  was  re- 
roofed, repaired  and  divided  by  a partition, 
making  two  rooms  of  equal  size ; one  of  these 
was  for  the  school,  which  up  to  that  time  had 
been  kept  in  a dwelling-house,  and  the  other 
was  f or  use  as  the  town  hall.  F rom  municipal 
funds,  sixty  pesos  wrere  appropriated  for  the 
construction  of  additional  desks  and  benches 
for  the  school,  and  twenty  pesos  were  set  aside 
monthly  for  the  salary  of  an  efficient  maestra. 
The  insular  government  assisted  by  employing 
and  paying  the  salary  of  an  active  and  able 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  C AMARINES  157 


maestro  at  six  hundred  pesos  yearly.  Many 
of  the  towns-people  were  employed  in  road 
and  bridge  work  in  the  vicinity,  receiving 
their  pay  from  the  province  in  rice.  The  small 
crop  of  rice,  which  for  several  years  previous 
had  been  eaten  by  the  locusts,  escaped  destruc- 
tion, and  the  people  took  heart.  The  school 
filled  to  overflowing,  still  more  furniture  was 
built  by  means  of  government  donations  of 
rice,  the  new  teachers  were  active  and  helpful, 
and  Pili  was  a new  town,  in  spirit  at  least. 
The  following  year  an  increased  acreage  of 
rice  was  planted  and  harvested;  and  if  there 
be  no  serious  backsets  the  town  will  soon  again 
be  on  its  feet. 

The  neighboring  town  of  Bula,  small  and 
somewhat  out  of  the  way,  had  remained  with- 
out a school  since  the  insurrection,  owing  to  the 
absence  of  a specific  demand.  But  soon  after 
Pili’s  awakening,  the  Bula  people  petitioned 
for  a school  and  for  aid  in  building  a school- 
house.  In  response,  fifty  sacks  of  congres- 
sional relief  fund  rice  were  apportioned,  and 
the  active  old  gentleman  who  occupied  the  po- 
sition of  presidente  made  plans  for  a well- 
built  and  roomy  school.  The  quantity  of  rice 
donated  would  not  be  sufficient  to  carry  the 
undertaking  to  a head,  even  taking  into  ac- 


158 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


count  the  dozen  good  molave  harigues  saved 
from  the  former  building  which  had  been  de- 
stroyed; therefore  the  men  of  the  town  who 
were  able  brought  in  hardwood  poles  for  the 
f rame,  great  stacks  of  nipa  for  the  thatch  roof 
and  sides,  and  bundles  of  bejuco  with  which  to 
tie  the  building  together,  used  in  place  of 
nails.  From  his  pulpit  the  parish  priest  ani- 
mated the  people.  Laborers  gave  several  days 
or  a week’s  labor  each  to  further  the  under- 
taking; and  under  the  wise  management  of 
the  presidente , Bula  soon  had  as  well  built  a 
school-house  of  light  materials  as  could  be 
found  in  the  province,  including  equipment  of 
desks  and  benches  similar  to  those  used  in  this 
country  in  the  time  of  our  grandfathers.  The 
insular  government  then  performed  its  part, 
which  was  to  send  a liberal  supply  of  school- 
books and  materials;  even  more,  it  supplied  a 
maestro  paid  from  insular  funds,  as  at  Pili. 
The  salary  of  the  maestra  was  paid  by  the  town 
itself  from  its  nearly  empty  treasury.  On  the 
opening  day,  the  American  flag  floated  from 
the  staff  planted  in  the  school-yard,  and  the 
towns-people  gave  a dinner  to  the  two  hundred 
and  odd  children  who  presented  themselves  for 
admission.  Thus  did  the  poverty-bound  people 
of  Bula  show  their  mettle,  and  so  was  their 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  CAMARINES  159 


life  quickened  by  the  establishment  of  a public 
school  on  modem  lines. 

By  means  of  congressional  relief  fund  rice 
more  than  thirty  school-houses  were  con- 
structed in  as  many  different  places  in  Cama- 
rines,  most  of  these  being  too  poor  to  build 
unassisted.  The  interest  and  public  spirit  of 
the  people  were  proved  by  their  voluntary  do- 
nations of  labor  and  material,  as  at  Bula.  In 
Minalabag,  a young  man,  of  his  own  accord, 
deeded  gratuitously  a lot  in  the  central  part 
of  the  town  for  a site  for  the  school.  So  great 
was  the  demand  for  the  establishment  of  new 
schools  in  towns  and  barrios  that  teachers  and 
materials  could  not  be  supplied  fast  enough. 
Additional  teachers  were  required  in  the  older 
schools  to  meet  the  constantly  increasing  at- 
tendance. The  success  of  the  schools  was  as- 
sured ; the  experimental  stage  had  been  passed. 

Among  other  lessons  taught  by  the  Span- 
iards to  the  too-willing  Filipinos  was  the  one 
that  it  is  beneath  the  dignity  of  a well-to-do 
person  to  carry  a package  or  a bundle  in  the 
street,  or  indeed  at  any  time.  Hence,  those 
natives  who  can  afford  it — and  where,  in  the 
towns,  is  one  who  cannot? — invariably  take  or 
send  a servant,  more  often  than  not  one  of  the 
child-peons,  when  they  go  to  buy  in  the  mar- 


160 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


ket  or  the  stores,  or  whenever  any  article,  how- 
ever small,  is  required  to  be  transported.  So 
at  first  many  of  the  students  of  the  Provincial 
School,  and  especially  the  young  women,  were 
accompanied  by  children,  walking  a few  paces 
behind,  carrying  the  bundle  of  school-books, 
and  the  sun-umbrella  when  not  in  use.  But 
the  example  of  the  American  teachers,  who 
insisted  on  carrying  their  own  books  and  be- 
longings, was  before  long  effective  in  the  un- 
learning of  the  lesson  by  a majority  of  the  stu- 
dents. Likewise  in  the  early  days  of  the  school 
the  young  men  looked  on  askance  while  the 
principal  himself  unpacked  the  boxes  of  text- 
books and  other  supplies  and  carried  them  to 
the  supply  cupboard ; but  soon  there  were  more 
pupil  volunteers  for  this  task  than  were  nec- 
essary, who  thereafter  refused  to  allow  the 
teachers  to  do  any  part  of  the  wTork.  This  at- 
titude toward  labor  on  the  part  of  the  well-to- 
do  people  was  one  reason  (though  it  may  not 
have  been  considered  by  the  educational  au- 
thorities) why  it  was  unwise  to  attempt  to 
introduce  industrial  teaching  generally  in  the 
Philippine  schools  too  early  in  the  scholastic 
campaign.  It  was  necessary  that  the  people’s 
sympathy  should  first  be  won  for  the  school- 
system  as  a whole,  their  confidence  and  co- 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  CAMARINES  161 


operation  secured,  and  themselves  enlightened 
as  to  the  educational  worth  of  manual  train- 
ing and  the  economical  value  of  industrial  and 
trade  teaching  to  their  young ; otherwise,  in  all 
probability,  they  would  have  misunderstood 
the  plan  and  declined  to  make  use  of  the  f acili- 
ties.  But  the  occasion  is  now  ripe  for  the 
general  introduction  of  such  industrial  instruc- 
tion as  has  been  given  at  the  Manila  Trade 
School  for  several  years;  and  this  is  now 
taking  place  in  the  two  or  three  intermediate 
schools  in  every  province  and  in  all  provincial 
schools.  This  instruction  comprises  teaching 
in  gardening  and  agriculture,  carpentry  and 
iron-work,  and  housekeeping,  the  latter  includ- 
ing cooking,  sewing,  sanitation  and  the  care  of 
children  and  invalids.*  In  the  Manila  Normal 
School  young  women  students  of  wealthy 
families,  who  a short  time  ago  would  have 


* “The  Filipinos  are  a sentimental,  almost  a poetical,  but 
scarcely  a practical  people.  They  will  freely  sacrifice  life  itself 
for  an  abstraction,  and  at  the  same  time  turn  aside  from  the 
prosaic  work  of  commonplace  preparation  which  would  make  the 
sacrifice  unnecessary  and  give  form  and  substance  to  the  abstrac- 
tion. Their  temperament  predisposes  them  to  dwell  too  much 
on  their  expectations  of  the  future,  and  too  little  on  the  live, 
exigent  problems  of  the  present.  Great  emphasis  is,  therefore, 
laid  on  the  severely  practical  by  the  bureau  of  education,  and 
but  little  attention  is  paid  to  classical  studies.” — Report  of  the 
Philippine  Commission,  1904.  Vol.  iii. , p.  823. 


162 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


spurned  to  engage  in  any  such  undignified 
proceeding  as  soiling  their  hands  with  earth, 
now  think  nothing  of  planting  and  cultivating 
flowers  and  vegetables  in  the  school  garden. 
So  that,  hy  degrees  which  appear  slow,  but  in 
reality  are  very  rapid,  ideas  and  customs 
taught  by  the  Spaniards  are  being  supplanted 
by  those  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin,  not  only  to 
the  benefit  but  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
people. 

In  the  primary  and  intermediate  grades,  in 
addition  to  the  common  branches,  the  teaching 
includes  easy  science  lessons,  taking  for  their 
subjects  familiar  Philippine  plants,  animal 
life  in  Malaysia,  and  physiology  and  hygiene, 
including  a study  of  epidemic  diseases.* 

* “ Larger  place  is  given  to  science  work  than  is  usual  in  the 
public  schools  of  America.  . . . Education  in  the  Philippines 
is  concerned  with  a people  whose  lack  of  exactness,  especially 
in  their  mental  processes,  is  a conspicuous  racial  fault.  The 
Filipino  has  an  instinctive  and  intense  reluctance  to  admit  ig- 
norance. This  characteristic  has  often  earned  him  an  other- 
wise undeserved  reputation  for  unreliability  or  dishonesty.  He 
fails  to  appreciate  the  desirability  of  accuracy.  Training  in 
science,  properly  given,  will  develop  a new  respect  for  exactness 
and  a conception  of  the  inexpediency  of  misstatement,  proving, 
perhaps,  a better  corrective  than  methods  which  meet  this  fault 
by  more  direct  attack. 

“The  plant  and  animal  studies  place  emphasis  upon  economic 
values.  They  give  to  all  students  information  fundamentally 
related  to  the  improvement  and  expansion  of  agriculture  in 
the  islands.  . . . Their  pedagogical  purpose  on  the  other 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  CAMARINES  163 


Much  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  study  of 
civil  government.  In  the  sixth  year  a study  of 
the  government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  is 
taken  up,  including  the  municipal  and  pro- 
vincial codes,  the  instructions  of  President 
McKinley  to  the  Philippine  Commission,  and 
the  Act  of  Congress  of  July,  1902.  The 
young  citizens  composing  the  class  are  organ- 
ized successively  into  a municipal  council,  a 
provincial  board  and  a legislative  assembly, 
and  in  the  last  debates  on  public  questions  take 
place  from  time  to  time.* 

hand  is  to  induce  accurate  first-hand  observation  and  reasoning 
about  facts  observed.  Especial  difficulty  lies  in  overcoming  the 
tendency  of  the  Filipino  pupil  to  learn  merely  by  rote.  The 
science  studies  largely  eliminate  the  use  of  this  method  in  that 
they  require  answers  as  the  fruit  of  reasoning  rather  than  of 
memory.  Filipino  boys  and  girls  are  quite  alike  in  their  en- 
thusiasm for  work  which  is  out  of  doors,  away  from  the  printed 
page,  and  concerns  things  wdiich  they  can  handle,  which  they 
have  seen  every  day,  and  which  have  very  considerable  eco- 
nomic importance  for  them.” — Report  of  the  Philippine  Com- 
mission, 1904.  Vol.  iii. , pp  866-7. 

* “ If  we  are  to  look  forward  to  the  time  when  the  Filipino 
people  are  to  be,  at  least  in  large  part,  self-governing  certainly 
the  obligation  exists  to  supply  the  best  possible  training  to  that 
end.  Hence,  special  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  teaching  of 
methods  and  ethics  of  government,  of  the  social  relations  and 
obligations  of  the  individual,  of  fundamental  political  economy, 
and  especially  of  the  rights  and  right  use  of  the  elective  fran- 
chise. There  are  in  the  public  schools  at  present  12,000  male 
pupils,  who,  within  the  next  three  years,  will  reach  the  age  of 
twenty-three  and  will  attain  elective  franchise  through  possess- 


164 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Physical  exercise  and  the  training  of  char- 
acter receive  attention  in  all  grades  through- 
out the  courses. 

While  the  American  system  of  schools 
pleased  the  Bicols  from  the  first,  there  were 
many  good  people  among  them  who  believed 
that  there  was  one  fatal  defect,  and  that  was 
that  the  regulations  prohibited  the  teaching 
of  the  doctrine  and  catechism  of  the  Roman 
Church.  While  the  parish  priests  are  charged 
very  strictly  with  the  duty  of  instructing  the 
youth  in  their  religion,  and  warned  that  they 
must  not  leave  this  duty  to  be  performed  by 
others,  express  instruction,  up  to  the  time  of 
the  American  occupation,  had  been  given  only 
in  the  public  schools.  The  people  were  slow 
to  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  employes  of 
a free  government  must  limit  their  teaching 
to  secular  and  moral  as  distinguished  from  de- 
nominational religious  teaching;  and  many 
resented  what  they  deemed  to  be  an  un- 
necessary inhibition.  Naturally,  the  priests, 
altogether  unaccustomed  to  exert  themselves 
personally  in  the  doctrinal  and  catechetical  in- 

ing  the  educational  qualifications.  Within  six  years  upward  of 
60,000  will  similarly  attain  the  franchise.  The  necessity  for 
giving  these  pupils,  without  delay,  adequate  instruction  in 
civics  and  politics  is  manifest.” — Report  of  the  Philippine  Com- 
mission, 1904.  Vol.  iii.,  p.  869. 


THE  AWAKENING  IN  CAMARINES  165 


struction  of  the  youth  of  their  parishes,  were 
slow  to  realize  their  increased  responsibilities 
under  the  new  conditions ; and  but  few  availed 
themselves  of  the  special  provision  of  the 
school  regulations  to  overcome  the  difficulty. 
This  was  that  any  priest  of  a parish  might  give 
religious  instruction  in  the  public  school  three 
half-hours  each  week  to  those  pupils  whose 
parents  petitioned  the  school  authorities  to  that 
effect.  Some  said  that  the  time  allowed  was 
not  sufficient;  but  that  was  evidently  a pre- 
text, because  in  two  parishes  in  Camarines  the 
priests  did  avail  themselves  of  the  provision 
and  evidently  found  it  satisfactory.  The  real 
reason  must  have  been  the  difficulty  of  wean- 
ing themselves  from  the  old  idea,  and  of  rising 
to  meet  their  responsibilities  under  the  new 
arrangement.  If  this  be  true,  the  trouble  will 
rapidly  disappear;  the  people  themselves  are 
coming  to  understand  and  approve  the  reasons 
for  the  prohibition  of  denominational  teach- 
ing; and  it  should  not  be  long  until  children’s 
Sunday-schools  are  organized  and  conducted 
as  they  are  in  the  United  States,  thus  provid- 
ing the  necessary  religious  teaching  for  the 
children. 

In  only  one  town  in  Camarines  was  any  hos- 
tility displayed  by  the  clergy  against  the  pub- 


166 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


lie  schools,  and  there  it  was  the  result  of  a fac- 
tional quarrel  between  the  presidente  and  his 
henchmen  on  one  side  and  the  native  priest  and 
his  following  on  the  other.  There  had  been 
a large  attendance  at  the  school  the  pre- 
vious year;  but  after  the  quarrel  the  efforts 
of  the  presidente  in  behalf  of  the  school  were 
resisted  by  the  priest’s  party,  who  adopted 
that  means  as  one  of  several  to  score  against 
their  opponents.  In  time  the  school  regained 
its  prestige,  and  to-day  it  is  one  of  the  best,  as 
the  pro-public-school  sentiment  in  the  town  is 
of  the  strongest. 

In  view  of  the  need,  and  of  the  eagerness 
and  cooperation  of  the  people  in  the  upbuild- 
ing of  a system  of  free  public  schools,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  most  American  teachers  be- 
lieve that  Philippine  school  work  yields  a 
greater  percentage  of  profit  in  the  way  of  en- 
joyment and  satisfaction  than  any  other  labor 
that  they  could  undertake. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
A JOURNEY  TO  THE  RINCONADA 


Methods  of  Travel — The  Trotting  Carabao — Mt. 
Iriga — Iriga  Municipality — The  Local  Market 
— Difficulty  of  Supervising  Barrio  Schools — The 
Town  of  Buhi — A Tangle  in  a Jungle — Naming 
and  Placarding  the  Streets  in  Minasbad. 

Methods  of  travel  in  the  Philippines  are  the 
most  diverse  that  can  be  imagined.  Because 
of  the  scarcity  of  horses  I was  frequently 
obliged  to  avail  myself  of  the  indispensable 
carabao  for  transportation  purposes.  While 
this  animal  is  sluggish  by  nature,  it  is  some- 
times trained  to  trot  at  a slow  pace,  so  enabling 
one  in  a country  where  rapid  transit  has  never 
been  known  nor  dreamed  of,  to  get  over  the 
ground  with  reasonable  satisfaction.  The  ani- 
mal is  hitched  in  a carromata  or  quelis , the 
shafts  of  which  are  supported  by  being  tied 
with  a piece  of  rope  to  the  neck-yoke.  The 
single  rein  of  rope  or  bejuco  is  fastened  in  the 
beast’s  nostrils  and  pulled  to  the  right  or  left 
to  indicate  the  direction.  If  the  signal  be  not 

obeyed,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  the  driver 

167 


168 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


jumps  to  the  ground,  and  pushing  or  pulling 
the  animal  around  by  sheer  strength,  starts  it 
off  in  the  new  direction,  jumping  to  the  seat 
while  the  vehicle  is  in  motion.  After  a mile  or 
two  the  creature  is  more  than  likely  to  stop  in 
the  middle  of  the  road  and  lie  down  in  a mud- 
puddle,  unless  the  driver  is  watchful  and  pulls 
sharply  on  the  rein;  even  then  he  is  often  un- 
able to  prevent  the  action.  In  any  event,  it  is 
necessary  to  stop  presently,  unhitch  the  cara- 
bao and  lead  it  to  a stream  or  ditch  at  the  side 
of  the  road  to  bathe.  Here  it  lies  down  in  the 
water;  the  driver  wades  in  and  with  his  hands 
throws  water  on  the  carabao's  head  and  back; 
and  then  he  washes  its  head,  neck,  back  and 
flanks.  Five  minutes’  bathing  is  sufficient, 
after  which  the  beast,  again  in  the  shafts,  trots 
on  for  another  two  or  three  miles,  when  the 
proceeding  is  repeated.  In  this  manner  I 
usually  travelled  the  eight  miles  to  Pili. 

To  the  left  of  the  Pili  road  rise  the  gently 
concave  slopes  of  Mt.  Isarog,  while  to  the 
right,  in  the  distance,  is  seen  Mt.  Iriga — both 
of  these  extinct  volcanoes.  Beyond  Iriga  looms 
the  beautiful  Mayon,  from  its  peak  a streamer 
of  light-colored  smoke  floating  northward.  A 
continuation  of  the  j ourney  fifteen  miles  along 
this  road  brings  one  to  the  district  known  as 


A JOURNEY  TO  THE  RINCON  AD  A 169 


the  Rinconada,  a group  of  five  municipalities,* 
from  the  midst  of  which  rises  cone-shaped  Mt. 
Iriga  to  a height  of  four  thousand  feet.  The 
sides  of  the  mountain  nourish  rich  plantations 
of  abaca  owned  by  several  Spaniards,  and  shel- 
ter several  hundreds  of  the  Philippine  abo- 
rigines, the  Negritos,  who  are  now  employed 
on  the  plantations.  Because  of  the  production 
of  abaca  the  town  of  Iriga  ranks  third  in  im- 
portance in  Camarines,  being  outclassed  only 
by  Nueva  Caceres  and  Daet.  Numerous 
springs  of  pure  water  pour  out  from  the  base 
of  the  mountain ; there  the  people  go  to  bathe, 
and  thence  they  fetch  the  water  for  household 
use  in  great,  hollow  sections  of  bamboo.  Trees 
of  the  sweet  ilang-ilang  grow  in  the  forests  of 
the  mountain  side,  from  the  blossoms  of  which 
perfume  is  distilled  for  commerce.  Shady  co- 
coanut  groves  constantly  bestow  their  abun- 
dance, and  the  bright  green  rice  paddies  oc- 
cupy the  spaces  between.  Don  Santiago,  who 
lives  near  the  middle  of  the  town,  has  in  his 
back  yard  a spring  of  pure,  cool  water,  en- 
closed in  a little  bath-house;  so  deep  is  it  that 
one  is  able  to  immerse  himself  completely — a 
treat  which  the  owner’s  hospitality  always 
places  at  the  disposal  of  passing  Americans. 

* Iriga,  Nabua,  Bato,  Baao  and  Buhi. 


170 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Now,  supposing  that  we  have  bathed  away  the 
dust  and  perspiration  of  our  journey,  and 
donned  fresh  suits  of  cool  linen,  let  us  visit 
the  market. 

The  customs  with  respect  to  the  local  mar- 
kets vary  in  the  different  towns;  in  some, 
market  is  held  every  day,  in  the  morning,  af- 
ternoon or  evening;  in  others,  twice  or  three 
times  a week.  The  Iriga  market  is  held  on  the 
plaza  in  the  open  air  each  evening.  The  people 
may  be  seen  every  afternoon  toward  sunset 
coming  along  the  country  roads  carrying 
their  produce  in  baskets  balanced  on  their 
heads.  The  more  prosperous  bring  an  assist- 
ant, who  perhaps  carries  a mat  on  which  to 
display  the  merchandise,  and  a stool-like  table 
with  drawers  for  a counter.  By  dark  hun- 
dreds of  petty  merchants  have  ranged  them- 
selves in  long  parallel  rows,  forming  lanes, 
each  person  squatting  on  the  ground  with  his 
stock-in-trade  spread  before  him.  Every 
seller  has  a torch,  consisting  either  of  a quan- 
tity of  hard  pitch  wrapped  in  dried  palm 
leaves,  or  of  a bottle  containing  kerosene  oil 
with  a rag  for  a wick.  All  who  sell  vegetables 
are  in  one  portion  of  the  plaza,  the  fish-dealers 
in  another,  the  rice  venders  in  a third,  and  each 
class  of  merchandise  has  its  designated  place. 


A JOURNEY  TO  THE  RINCON  AD  A 171 


Of  some  the  stock-in-trade  is  pitifully  small; 
perhaps  a dozen  camotes  will  comprise  that  of 
one  person ; of  another,  it  will  be  a quart  of  di- 
minutive green  peppers,  arranged  in  little  piles 
to  give  the  effect  of  abundance;  a third  will 
offer  three  or  four  cocoanuts,  while  a fourth 
will  spread  out  a pint  of  peanuts  arranged  in 
piles  of  three.  The  transactions  of  some  of 
these  poor  peasants  do  not  aggregate  more  than 
a few  centavos  a night;  but  they  attend  regu- 
larly, drawn  partly,  no  doubt,  by  the  desire 
to  pose  as  commer  dailies — to  them  an  oc- 
cupation symbolical  of  means  and  position, 
partly  because  the  nightly  gathering  satisfies 
the  craving  for  association  with  their  fel- 
lows, but  principally  because  they  need  the 
few  bilogs  they  may  receive  for  their  bit  of 
produce. 

On  the  other  hand,  a profit  of  several  pesos  a 
night  is  made  by  some,  notably  the  rice  dealers ; 
standing  about  these  there  is  always  an  admir- 
ing throng  watching  the  ostentatious  manner 
in  which  the  rice  is  scooped  up  from  the  pile, 
measured  and  dumped  into  the  cloth  spread  to 
receive  it,  the  while  the  vender  counts  in  a 
loud  tone  the  number  of  measures:  " Saro , 
dua,  told , apat,  lima  ” and  so  on.  In  case  of 
rain,  the  principal  merchants  place  portable 


172 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


shelters  of  bamboo  and  nipa  over  their  wares; 
the  smaller  ones  raise  their  umbrellas,  while 
the  poorest  either  sit  in  the  rain  or,  if  this  be 
too  copious,  flee  to  shelter.  From  the  plaza 
rises  a continuous  buzz  of  conversation  and 
traflic  which  can  be  heard  more  than  a block 
away,  but  this  ceases  upon  the  tolling  of  the 
eight  o’clock  bell  from  the  church  steeple  near 
by.  Instantly  all  traflic  is  suspended;  the  men 
uncover;  the  devout  stand  facing  the  church, 
repeating  their  prayers  silently;  there  is  no 
sound  except  the  deep  tone  of  the  bell,  no 
motion  but  the  flickering  of  the  torches.  The 
tolling  ceases — the  silence  can  be  heard.  A 
moment  after  there  is  a rustle,  a movement  of 
the  mass,  a buzz  gradually  augmented,  and 
the  bargaining  and  gossip  are  resumed  and 
immediately  swell  to  the  former  volume. 

Iriga  was  the  first  town  in  Camarines  to 
establish  barrio  schools.  Don  Santiago  was 
presidente  at  that  time,  and  to  his  interest  and 
active  efforts  it  was  due  that  the  six  most  im- 
portant outlying  barrios  made  ready  school- 
houses  of  light  material.  A maestro  and  a 
maestra  were  appointed  for  each  school  at 
salaries  of  fifteen  pesos  per  month  each,  and 
though  these  were  poorly  equipped  as  to 
English  and  knowledge  of  methods  of  teach- 


A JOURNEY  TO  THE  RINCONADA  173 


ing,  a beginning  was  made.  As  in  Nueva 
Vizcaya,  the  plan  of  the  Friday  teachers’  class 
was  adopted,  which  gave  the  pupils  three  days 
at  home  each  week,  an  arrangement  popular 
with  the  parents,  as  the  children’s  labor  was 
thus  available.  The  greatest  obstacle  to  the 
supervision  of  these  schools,  each  of  which  re- 
ceived a weekly  visit  from  the  supervising 
teacher,  was  the  all  but  impassable  condition 
of  the  roads  from  October  to  March.  His 
pony  often  went  belly-deep  into  the  mud  and 
water;  occasionally  it  slipped  and  fell.  He 
was  unable  to  ford  the  river  after  heavy  rains 
without  wetting  himself  to  the  thighs.  Nearly 
always  during  the  winter  months  he  arrived 
at  the  school  in  wet  clothing,  bespattered  with 
mud  from  head  to  foot,  and  in  this  condition 
he  was  obliged  to  make  his  inspection  and 
serve  as  “guide,  philosopher  and  friend”  to  the 
teachers  and  pupils. 

The  town  of  Buhi  is  most  picturesquely  situ- 
ated at  the  southern  base  of  Mt.  Iriga.  F rom 
it  may  be  seen  that  which  is  most  peculiar  about 
the  mountain,  which  is  a great  wide  cleft  reach- 
ing from  peak  to  base,  evidently  the  result  of 
some  terrific  convulsion  in  past  ages.  Huge 
piles  of  debris — earth  and  rock — now  covered 
with  verdure,  lie  scattered  over  the  country 


174 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


thereabout.  From  the  beautiful  Lake  Buhi,  at 
intervals  of  a year  or  two,  rise  sulphurous 
vapors,  and  at  such  times  quantities  of  dead 
fish  float  to  the  surface.  The  town  itself  is 
built  on  a great  pile  of  cinders,  plainly  distin- 
guished when  excavations  are  made.  Spread 
on  some  of  the  streets  I saw  freshly  excavated 
volcanic  cinders  as  black  and  clean  as  if  they 
had  but  just  been  raked  out  of  a locomotive 
fire-box.  A dozen  miles  to  the  east  are  the 
celebrated  hot  springs  of  Tim.  Off  of  the 
main  route  of  travel,  the  Buhi  people  have  but 
little  contact  and  communication  with  the  out- 
side world,  and  lead  their  own  lives  untroubled 
by  occurrences  elsewhere. 

It  was  while  returning  on  horseback  from 
Buhi  to  Iriga  over  the  eight  miles  of  indescrib- 
ably bad  roads  that,  in  order  to  avoid  an  im- 
mense and  very  deep  mud-hole,  I thought  to 
make  a detour  through  the  jungle  at  the  side 
of  the  road.  Dismounting,  I led  my  pony  in, 
and  we  worked  our  way  half  of  the  distance 
around.  By  that  time,  the  pony’s  legs  were  so 
entangled  with  creepers  that  he  could  move 
neither  backward  nor  forward.  I took  off  the 
saddle  and  then  freed  one  foot  at  a time,  but 
at  the  next  step  the  entanglement  was  worse 
than  before;  and  after  fifteen  minutes’  work, 


A JOURNEY  TO  THE  RINCONADA  175 


the  animal  was  so  nonplussed  that  he  refused 
to  make  further  effort  to  move,  while  I was 
as  wet  from  perspiration  as  if  I had  walked 
out  of  a river.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but 
to  go  for  help;  and  fortunately  I met  a bare- 
footed tao  with  a bolo  in  his  belt  a short  dis- 
tance down  the  road.  Pointing  to  the  jungle, 
I said,  “My  horse  is  in  there  and  cannot  get 
out.  Will  you  help  me?”  Of  this  he  under- 
stood only  the  word  horse  and  the  gesture. 
He  shook  his  head  and  said  “Mayo  caballo” 
(“There  is  no  horse  there”) . I insisted  that  my 
horse  was  there,  at  which  he  regarded  me  as 
if  he  thought  my  mind  unbalanced.  But  I 
demanded  that  he  should  go  with  me,  which 
he  finally  did;  and  when  he  saw  the  situation 
he  labored  willingly  and  diligently,  cutting 
the  creepers  which  held  the  animal  with  his 
bolo  and  clearing  a passage-way  in  front. 
He  then  tugged  at  the  reins  before  while  I 
whipped  from  behind,  and  presently  we  all 
emerged  in  the  road  again.  Imagine  my  as- 
tonishment when  this  tao,  though  evidently  a 
very  poor  man,  repeatedly  declined  to  receive 
the  good-sized  silver  piece  I sought  to  press 
upon  him  with  my  thanks. 

It  was  upon  this  journey  that  I observed 
in  the  town  we  will  call  Minasbad  a most  in- 


176 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


genuous  system  of  naming  and  placarding  the 
streets.  As  I walked  about  I found  newly 
painted  street  signs  on  nearly  every  street 
bearing  the  names  McKinley,  Taft  and  Man- 
uel Roble.  If  the  last  name  be  a strange  one 
to  the  reader,  let  me  hasten  to  inform  him  that 
Manuel  Roble  is  the  presidente  of  Minasbad. 
Walking  several  blocks  along  McKinley  Street 
I turned  to  the  right  into  a cross  street;  but 
soon,  to  my  surprise,  I read  that  I was  still 
on  McKinley  Street.  Continuing  a couple  of 
blocks  without  turning  I was  astonished  to  see 
that  I was  then  on  Manuel  Roble  Street,  but 
shortly  rounding  a corner  I found  that  Manuel 
Roble  Street  changed  direction  also,  and  later 
merged  itself  into  Taft  Street.  Taft  Street  I 
found  in  every  portion  of  Minasbad,  some- 
times trending  east  and  west  and  sometimes 
north  and  south.  “This  must  be  the  work  of 
boys  on  some  sort  of  an  All  Hallow  E’en 
lark,”  I said  to  myself ; but  then  I recalled  the 
fact  that  Filipino  youths  have  not  yet  pro- 
gressed so  far  in  civilization.  Presently  my 
mind  cleared,  and  I saw  in  imagination  the 
patriotic  principales  of  Minasbad  gathered  to 
choose  from  the  score  or  more  of  bright  fresh 
street  signs  adorned  with  scrolls  of  different 
patterns — this  one  selecting  a McKinley  sign, 


A JOURNEY  TO  THE  RINCONADA  177 


that  a Taft,  and  a third  honest  admirer  that 
bearing  the  name  of  the  local  celebrity,  and  so 
on  until  all  were  taken,  and  this  without  regard 
to  the  location  of  their  several  places  of  resi- 
dence. It  was  evidently  only  a matter  of  pa- 
triotic sentiment  somewhat  influenced  by  art; 
for  I remembered  that  in  Philippine  towns  the 
people  always  describe  localities  by  districts 
and  never  by  streets. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 

Mt.  Isarog — Moro  Watch  Towers — By  Trail  to 
Tinambac — A Philippine  Hamlet — To  Cara- 
moan  by  Sea — John  Chinaman  and  His  Opium 
— Military  Spirit  — Human  Brotherhood  — A 
Teacher  Physician — Small-pox — The  Padre  of 
Camagon  — The  Aglipayanos  — An  Impover- 
ished Barrio — Visit  to  a Negrito  Village — A 
Leper  Hospital. 

The  extinct  volcano  Isarog  rears  its  bulk 
midway  between  the  Nueva  Caceres  district 
and  the  section  known  as  the  Partido  de  Lag- 
onoy,  forming  a barrier  around  which  travel- 
lers must  make  a detour  either  to  the  north  or 
south.  So  far  as  known,  the  mountain  was  first 
ascended*  in  1903  by  two  American  teachers 
of  Camarines,  who  found  it  to  contain  an 
immense  funnel-shaped  crater,  so  deep  that 
the  trees  growing  in  its  depths  appeared 
like  bushes,  and  so  wide  that  several  seconds 
elapsed  before  rifle  cartridges  struck  the  oppo- 

*Mt.  Isarog  is  6,634  feet  in  height. 

178 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


179 


site  side.  One  side  of  the  tremendous  crater- 
wall  is  cleft,  and  through  this  opening  gush 
the  waters  of  a river  which  empties  presently 
into  the  Seno  de  Lagonoy.  Comparative 
prosperity  is  brought  to  the  five  Partido 
towns,*  having  a combined  population  of 
thirty-eight  thousand  people,  by  the  planta- 
tions of  abaca  growing  everywhere  on  the  sides 
of  the  mountains  and  hills.  Two  of  these 
towns  have  their  own  ports  for  the  inter-island 
vessels  which  carry  the  hemp  to  Manila.  At 
Sabang,  the  port  of  San  Jose,  as  at  many  other 
coast  settlements  in  southern  Luzon  and  the 
Visayas,  there  is  an  old  stone  watch-tower,  per- 
haps fifty  feet  high,  where,  in  times  before  the 
era  of  steamboats,  an  outlook  was  constantly  on 
guard  during  the  southwest  monsoon  to  give 
the  alarm  in  case  of  the  approach  of  Moro 
pirates.  The  Moros,  of  Mohammedan  faith, 
although  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Christian 
tribes,  formerly  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Luzon 
and  Mindoro,  and  of  all  the  islands  south  of 
these,  plundering,  murdering  and  carrying 
captives  by  the  hundreds  to  slavery  in  Min- 
danao and  the  Sulu  Islands.  They  ceased 
their  depredations  only  after  steam  vessels 
began  plying  in  Philippine  waters,  about  1850. 

* Goa,  San  Josd,  Tigaon,  Sagnay  and  Lagonoy. 


180 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Having  travelled  around  the  northern  base 
of  Isarog,  I found  myself  one  Sunday  morn- 
ing in  the  barrio  of  Payatan,  and  not  due  in 
the  poblacion  of  Goa,  twelve  miles  distant,  un- 
til the  following  morning.  Therefore  I de- 
termined to  ride  my  pony  over  the  trail  to  Tin- 
ambac,  on  San  Miguel  Bay,  to  learn  how  the 
people  were  getting  along  with  the  new  school- 
house  building  with  government  rice,  and  in- 
cidentally to  spy  out  the  trail  for  the  provincial 
board.  The  day  was  pleasant  and  the  jour- 
ney enjoyable,  at  least  until  the  last  quarter 
lengthened  out  to  double.  The  tropical  forest 
contained  the  most  curious  specimens  of  plant 
life — huge  tree-ferns,  tangles  of  rope-like 
vines,  great  bunches  of  air-plants  and  para- 
sitic growths,  strange  blossoms,  fruits  of  the 
brightest  colors  and  seed-pods  of  the  most 
curious  forms.  Animal  life  was  but  little  in 
evidence.  I saw  only  the  small  green  paro- 
quets that  flew  overhead,  and  heard  nothing 
but  the  raucous  call  of  the  large-beaked  calao. 
Toward  the  last  the  trail  degenerated  into  a 
muddy  and  stony  brooklet,  which  the  pony 
traced  with  slow  and  experimental  gait.  But 
the  end  finally  came,  and  then  I found  myself 
travelling  by  the  side  of  the  pleasant  river,  and 
heard,  from  just  around  the  bend,  the  shouts 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


181 


of  children  bathing  and  playing  like  river- 
sprites  in  the  clear  and  tepid  water. 

The  day  had  become  hot  as  noon  approached, 
and  the  hospitality  showed  me  at  the  home  of 
the  town  treasurer,  one  of  the  three  or  four 
men  in  the  town  who  knew  Spanish,  was  a 
welcome  relief  from  the  saddle  and  the  burn- 
ing rays  of  the  sun.  I paid  a call  of  respect  to 
the  presidente , but  our  conversation  was  not 
very  satisfactory,  from  the  fact  that  he  did  not 
understand  Spanish  and  I did  not  know  Bicol. 
Desiring  to  call  also  upon  the  padre , I was  in- 
formed that,  mass  being  finished,  he  was  en- 
joying the  diversion  afforded  by  play.  The 
game  of  burro  is  very  popular  with  the  lesser 
Filipino  ecclesiastics,  who,  in  common  with 
their  lay  brothers,  have  never  been  taught  to 
look  upon  gaming  with  disfavor. 

On  the  return,  a few  miles  from  the  town  I 
took  the  wrong  trail,  one,  I found,  that  even- 
tually led  to  Payatan,  but  by  a longer  route. 
However,  I had  gone  too  far  to  turn  back,  and 
besides  I was  not  sorry  to  make  new  explora- 
tions. The  path  advanced  through  acres  upon 
acres  of  hemp  plantations,  little  cleaned  or 
cared  for  in  recent  years.  Shortly  before  dark 
I came  upon  what  appeared  to  be  a stage  set- 
ting for  a village  scene.  The  wide  street  of 


182 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


the  hamlet  was  swept  clean  and  occupied  by- 
groups  of  natives,  some  standing  chatting  and 
some  seated  at  small  tables  set  with  bottles  and 
glasses.  Approaching  one  of  these  groups  I 
dismounted  and  inquired  my  way,  and,  finding 
a man  who  understood  a little  Spanish,  asked 
for  a man  or  a boy  to  go  with  me  with  a torch 
and  show  me  the  trail.  The  people  flocked 
about,  anxious  to  know  whence  I came,  what 
brought  me  by  that  unusual  route  and  what 
my  business  might  be.  They  invited  me  to 
rest,  unsaddled  my  pony,  put  him  to  graze, 
and  brought  wine  and  cigarettes.  There  had 
evidently  been  a neighborhood  celebration  in 
the  hamlet,  for  a would-be  Merry  Andrew 
came  up  and  offered  his  felicitations  and 
friendship  in  the  most  exuberant  way.  The 
others  immediately  apologized  for  him,  tap- 
ping their  heads  and  saying  that  he  had  taken 
too  much  vino. 

The  man  who  spoke  broken  Spanish  told  me 
that  he  had  two  sons  in  school  at  Goa;  these 
boys  I remembered  by  name,  which  created  an 
additional  bond  of  sympathy  between  guest 
and  hosts.  I asked  for  eggs  or  other  food, 
and  several  went  immediately  to  search,  but 
presently  came  back  saying  there  were  no  eggs 
in  the  barrio.  However,  they  brought  biscuit, 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


183 


bananas  and  wild  honey,  which  my  friend  im- 
pressively described  as  miel  de  las  abejas — 
“bee  honey.”  While  I ate,  a hoy  was  brought 
who  said  he  would  light  me  to  Payatan,  for 
which  service  I agreed  to  pay  him  a peso ; and 
he  forthwith  set  about  preparing  his  torch  of 
pitch  taken  from  a pill  tree,  wrapped  in  dried 
palm  leaves.  Then  bidding  my  friends  and 
hosts  adios,  we  set  out,  the  boy  preceding  on 
foot.  The  flaring  light  made  grotesque  shad- 
ows and  the  aromatic  smoke  trailed  streamer- 
like  ; the  tall  grass  on  either  side  struck  against 
my  pony’s  flanks  and  wet  my  legs  with  the  dew 
that  had  already  fallen;  the  path  meandered 
now  through  the  abaca  and  again  through  the 
forest,  turning  and  twisting,  always  revealing 
its  intricacies  to  the  light,  but  concealing  its 
mysteries  on  either  side  in  the  darkness.  When 
we  reached  Payatan  after  eleven  o’clock,  we 
entered  at  the  side  opposite  to  that  I had  gone 
out  of  that  morning. 

The  journey  to  Caramoan  was  always  inter- 
esting, as  the  route  was  mostly  by  sea  and  not 
unsafe  during  the  northeast  monsoon.  Usually 
I left  at  ten  or  eleven  o’clock  at  night  so  as  to 
voyage  in  the  coolness  and  gain  time  as  well. 
It  was  my  custom  to  stretch  myself  at  length 
on  the  bamboo  slats  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat 


184 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


and  sleep,  while  the  four  men  pulled  or,  when 
the  breeze  was  favorable,  managed  the  sail.  If 
there  were  no  delay,  morning  broke  when  we 
were  still  an  hour’s  journey  from  Guijalo,  the 
port  of  Caramoan;  and  there  was  then  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  to  watch  the  brilliant  and 
varied  forms  of  coral  growing  on  the  sea- 
bottom.  No  flower  garden  had  ever  seemed 
so  beautiful.  Seven  o’clock  usually  saw  our 
baroto  ground  on  the  shelving  beach  an  eighth 
of  a mile  from  dry  land,  when  the  men  carried 
me  ashore.  Then  in  the  freshness  of  the  morn- 
ing a sea  bath,  a lunch  of  soda-biscuit  and 
tinned  sardines,  and  I started  on  the  three- 
mile  walk  to  town.  Caramoan  is  built  on  a 
small  plain  surrounded  by  low,  jagged  hills, 
giving  the  appearance  of  an  old,  worn  vol- 
canic crater.  It  is  one  of  the  most  inaccessible 
towns  in  the  Camarines,  and  the  lack  of  inter- 
course with  the  outside  world  is  shown  by  the 
habits  of  the  people.  Thus,  the  use  of  opium 
is  more  general  than  elsewhere;  numbers  of 
men  and  women  are  said  to  use  it  openly;  in 
one  case,  father,  mother  and  one  or  two  sons 
were  addicted  to  the  habit.  Our  friend,  John 
Chinaman,  must  be  charged  with  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  vice  into  the  Philippines.  The  re- 
tail commerce  is  in  his  hands  everywhere  in  the 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


185 


archipelago.  In  all  the  time  I was  there  the 
number  of  stores  that  I saw  in  the  provinces 
owned  and  conducted  by  natives  could  be 
counted  on  the  fingers  of  the  hands ; and  along 
with  his  other  merchandise,  John  imported 
opium  into  the  Islands  and  taught  the  natives 
its  use.*  But,  before  we  condemn  him  too 
severely,  let  us  recall  the  history  of  the  opium 
traffic  and  the  part  the  English  bore  in  it  in 
China. 

Caramoan  is  the  town  of  which  a tale  is  told 
that,  after  the  establishment  of  civil  govern- 
ment, as  an  American  official,  the  deputy  pro- 
vincial treasurer,  approached  unexpectedly  one 
day  on  official  duty,  a company  of  the  men 
was  engaged  in  military  drill  togged  out  in 
insurrecto  uniforms.  The  deputy  did  not  see 
them  himself,  but  they  espied  him  and  imme- 
diately scattered  to  the  four  winds;  and  a few 
moments  later  the  presidente,  who  was  com- 
mander of  the  organization,  met  and  greeted 
the  deputy  without  having  had  time  or  oppor- 
tunity to  change  his  attire.  The  American, 
believing  the  presidente  was  only  wearing  out 
an  old  suit,  thought  little  of  the  occurrence, 
transacted  his  business  of  checking  over  the 

* The  vice  is  not  general  among  the  Filipinos,  but  without 
legislation  undoubtedly  it  would  have  become  so. 


186 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


local  treasurer’s  books,  received  the  proportion 
of  taxes  collected  due  the  province,  was  hos- 
pitably entertained,  and  departed  in  safety. 
The  story  leaked  out  afterward.  Evidently 
the  warlike  instinct  of  the  men  of  Caramoan 
was  quite  satisfied  by  military  regalia  and  com- 
pany drill. 

Departing  for  Sabang  at  night,  a storm 
came  up  and  the  sea  rose  so  that  about  one 
o’clock  we  were  obliged  to  run  upon  the  beach 
and  take  refuge  in  a shack  a few  rods  back 
from  the  water’s  edge.  In  answer  to  the 
halloos  of  my  men,  the  inmates  blew  the  em- 
bers of  their  fire  into  a glow,  slid  open  the 
door  and  invited  us  to  share  their  home  with 
themselves — a man,  woman  and  babe.  The 
floor  space  was  limited,  for  the  shack  was  no 
larger  than  a respectable  kennel.  Feeling 
around  in  the  darkness  the  woman  found  and 
lighted  the  lamp — a small  sea-shell  containing 
a cotton  wick  lying  in  cocoanut  oil.  Its  rays 
seemed  only  to  emphasize  the  darkness.  The 
child,  disturbed  by  the  movement  and  light, 
stirred  uneasily  on  the  petate , opened  its  eyes 
and  raised  its  voice  in  infantile  lamentation. 
The  mother  lay  down  beside  it,  snuggled  it  in 
her  arms  and  offered  her  breast,  upon  which 
all  was  right  again.  The  man  tended  the  fire 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


187 


in  the  diminutive  earth-floored  portico,  ac- 
cepted a cigarette,  lighted  it  with  an  ember, 
and  leaned  against  the  wall  in  quiet  enjoy- 
ment. The  storm  raged  outside  and  the  dog 
changed  position  to  the  lee  side  of  the  fire; 
the  babe  slept ; the  men  smoked ; little  was  said, 
but  the  brotherhood  of  man  was  manifest. 

Because  the  restricted  floor  space  did  not 
allow  of  our  lying  down  to  sleep,  we  left  in  a 
half  hour  during  a lull  in  the  storm,  and  em- 
barked again  in  the  baroto ; but  we  sailed 
only  as  far  as  the  next  beach,  where  the  stress 
of  wind  and  rain  again  obliged  us  to  interrupt 
the  slumbers  of  a household.  Numbers  of 
times  have  I been  obliged  to  ask  night  hospi- 
tality of  strange  natives  in  the  Philippines; 
and  never  have  they  failed  to  give  cheerfully 
the  best  they  had,  without  thought  of  recom- 
pense. The  dwelling  at  which  we  now  applied 
was  larger  than  the  first,  and  as  soon  as  a 
lamp  had  been  lighted  and  our  situation  ex- 
plained, the  members  of  the  family  moved 
their  petates  closer  together  on  the  floor  and 
laid  a fresh  one  for  me,  upon  which  I imme- 
diately stretched  myself  and  slept.  My  men 
were  similarly  accommodated  in  the  same 
room.  Shortly  after  daylight,  the  storm  hav- 
ing passed,  I thanked  our  host,  remembered 


188 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


the  children  with  coins,  and  for  the  third  time 
we  embarked  for  Sabang. 

The  American  teacher  of  the  town  which  we 
will  call  Camagon,  besides  being  a most  tactful 
and  sympathetic  man,  possessed  a fund  of  ex- 
perience in  medical  practice  and  nursing,  and 
in  addition,  he  kept  a good  supply  of  medi- 
cines. Daily,  before  and  after  school,  ailing 
people  of  the  town  and  the  region  round  about 
came  to  him  for  advice  and  treatment  and 
he  was  frequently  called  to  their  homes.  This 
service  he  always  gave  most  gladly  and  gra- 
tuitously as  well;  his  patients  were  truly  ap- 
preciative and  took  him  offerings  of  eggs, 
fruit,  a chicken,  or  whatever  was  most  con- 
venient. Upon  my  first  visit  to  Camagon  I 
found  that  the  small-pox  was  epidemic  therein. 
This  disease  is  never  entirely  absent  from  the 
Philippines,  but  so  many  generations  of  Fil- 
ipinos have  experienced  it  that  it  does  not,  as 
a rule,  go  badly  with  them.  But  woe  to  the 
American  who  contracts  the  disease.  He  inva- 
riably suff ers  severely,  and  the  malady  usually 
takes  the  most  malignant  form,  that  known  as 
“black  small-pox.”  Such  cases  are  nearly  al- 
ways fatal.  Repeated  vaccination,  both  before 
arrival  and  frequently  during  the  sojourn  in 
the  Islands,  is  the  only  safeguard.  Upon  the 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


189 


Camagon  teacher’s  invitation,  I accompanied 
him  as  he  went  on  his  round  of  visits  to  the 
small-pox  patients  one  Saturday  morning.  He 
took  as  interpreter  his  young  protege , a boy 
who  lived  with  him  and  attended  school.  We 
were  careful  not  to  touch  doorways,  furniture 
or  anything  whatever  in  the  infected  houses, 
with  person  or  clothing,  and  washed  the  ex- 
posed portions  of  our  bodies  with  a disinfect- 
ant when  we  arrived  home.  We  visited  eight 
different  dwellings  where  the  disease  existed  in 
all  stages,  from  cases  two  or  three  days  ad- 
vanced to  those  convalescent ; all  were  children 
except  one  man  of  perhaps  twenty  years;  his 
was  a “beautiful”  case,  the  features  being  all 
but  unrecognizable.  The  treatment  directed 
by  the  teacher  was  simple— the  administering 
of  a laxative,  anointing  with  vaseline  to  allay 
the  irritation,  advice  as  to  ventilation,  cleanli- 
ness and  care;  but  together  with  the  medicines 
which  he  left,  it  meant  much  to  those  poor 
people,  adding  to  the  comfort  of  many  and 
saving  the  lives  of  some. 

When  in  Camagon  on  another  occasion  I 
received  a call  from  an  old  white-haired  man, 
who  brought  me  an  invitation  to  act  as  padrino 
or  groomsman  at  a wedding  to  take  place  the 
following  day.  I declined,  pleading  igno- 


190 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


ranee  of  the  duties  incumbent  upon  a padrino ; 
but  the  old  man  pressed  the  request,  saying 
there  would  be  but  little  for  me  to  do,  and  that 
not  difficult.  I was  to  have  a compadre  or 
fellow  groomsman,  a native  official  from  a 
neighboring  town  with  whom  I was  already  ac- 
quainted, and  there  were  to  be  two  madrinas 
as  well.  We  were  to  stand  up  with  the  bride 
and  groom  during  the  ceremony,  and  again 
the  following  morning  at  the  mass,  and  lend 
our  presence  to  the  festivities.  The  young 
people  and  their  families  were  not  known  to 
me  personally,  but  that  seemed  to  make  no 
diff erence ; and  finally  I consented  to  act. 

So  the  next  afternoon,  between  five  and  six 
o’clock,  I wended  my  way  to  the  home  of  the 
bride.  The  friends  of  the  family  were  al- 
ready gathered,  the  barefooted  musicians  were 
waiting  in  front  of  the  house,  and  the  final 
adjustment  of  the  bridal  veil  was  being  made 
by  the  attendants.  Shortly  after  dusk  we  de- 
scended to  the  street  and  took  up  our  strag- 
gling march  to  the  church.  First,  went  the 
band  with  the  drums  beating  and  horns  blar- 
ing; the  bride  and  her  immediate  family,  and 
we  four,  who  were  to  assist  at  the  ceremony, 
followed.  Behind  us  came  the  neighbors  and 
friends;  where  the  groom  was  I did  not  know. 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


191 


Here  and  there,  on  either  side,  bearing  flaming 
pitch  torches,  traipsed  little  brown  cherubs  like 
conventional  Cupids,  except  that  they  carried 
no  bows  and  arrows  and  wore  neither  wings 
nor  sashes.  As  we  passed  along  in  mid  street, 
some  faster  and  some  more  slowly,  the  mem- 
bers of  our  party  became  mixed  with  the  band. 
Presently  I observed  that  the  bride  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  players,  and  myself  I found 
marching  beside  the  bass  drum.  The  young 
man  whom,  from  his  spruce  appearance,  I took 
for  the  groom,  walked  at  the  head  in  front  of 
the  cymbals.  If  the  volume  of  sound  be  a 
criterion,  the  musicians  were  doing  themselves 
and  us  proud. 

As  we  entered  the  churchyard,  the  five  bells 
began  to  ring  most  vigorously  and  the  band 
played  louder  than  ever;  and  in  another  mo- 
ment we  had  arrived  at  the  church  door.  Here 
we  stopped  before  entering  to  rearrange  the 
bridal  party;  the  groom  being  called  for,  I 
found  that  I had  been  mistaken  in  my  identifi- 
cation, for  a meek-looking  young  man  whom 
I had  not  before  observed  pushed  through  the 
crowd  and  took  his  place  at  the  side  of  the 
bride.  The  rest  of  us  formed  behind  them,  and 
all  entered  the  church.  At  the  same  moment 
the  priest,  with  his  crucifer,  candle-bearers  and 


192 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


acolyte  left  the  altar  steps,  and  the  two  parties 
met  in  the  middle.  Immediately  the  ceremony 
began,  in  the  native  dialect.  When  the  bride 
was  asked  if  she  would  take  the  groom  to  be 
her  husband,  she  hung  her  head  and  did  not 
reply.  The  priest  repeated  the  question,  and, 
without  response,  the  girl’s  head  went  down 
lower.  The  third  time  the  question  was  put, 
and  the  woman  carried  her  handkerchief  to  her 
eyes. 

By  this  time  the  madrinas  and  the  bride’s 
mother  had  stepped  up  behind  and  begun 
whispering  in  her  ear.  “What  is  this?”  said  I 
to  myself.  “Is  it  possible  that  I am  a witness 
to  a forced  marriage?  This  will  never  do.  But 
what  is  to  be  done  ?”  Then  I reflected  that  the 
priest,  whom  I knew  very  well  and  in  whom 
I had  the  utmost  confidence,  would  not  allow 
anything  of  that  kind;  and  I decided  to  wait 
and  see.  In  the  meantime  the  whispering  ad- 
monitions had  continued,  and  the  question  was 
being  put  for  the  fourth  time.  The  silence  was 
intense.  At  length  the  bridal  lips  uttered  a 
subdued  “Yes,”  and  the  ceremony  went  on. 

Later  I inquired  what  had  been  the  cause  of 
the  bride’s  hesitancy,  and  learned  that  it  was 
simply  a childish  disinclination  to  do  what  she 
was  desired  to  do  at  the  moment,  and  that  she 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


193 


had  wished  to  marry;  and  it  appeared  that 
she  had  no  idea  whatever  of  the  awkwardness 
of  the  situation  as  affecting  the  ceremony. 
When  the  groom  wedded  her  with  the  ring,  he 
used  a property  ring  handed  him  by  the  priest 
an  instant  before  for  the  purpose;  and  when  he 
endowed  her  with  his  worldly  goods  he  used  as 
a symbol  a string  of  half-a-dozen  copper  coins 
strung  on  a wire,  also  a property  kept  by  the 
church  for  such  occasions.  Presently,  the  cere- 
mony finished  and  the  priestly  blessing  given, 
the  bells  jangled  again  and  the  musicians  al- 
most burst  themselves  in  honor  of  the  event. 

Immediately  we  returned  to  the  house, 
which,  during  our  absence,  had  been  illumi- 
nated for  the  night’s  festivities.  An  orches- 
tra was  present  from  a near-by  town,  and 
dancing  at  once  began  with  a rigoddn.  At  ten 
o’clock  supper  was  served  in  a back  room  of 
the  house  under  a canopy  of  shredded  banana 
leaves  hanging  suspended  wrhere  the  ceiling 
should  have  been.  F or  a little  while  my  f riend, 
the  priest,  honored  the  gathering  with  his  pres- 
ence. After  supper  some  of  the  party  favored 
the  company  with  native  dances;  among  them 
was  a very  pretty  one  danced  by  a man  and 
woman,  intended  to  represent  the  courtship  of 
a pair  of  turtle-doves.  This  dance  consists  of 


194 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


a series  of  graceful  approaches  and  withdraw- 
als on  the  part  of  the  wooer  as  he  is  alternately 
encouraged  and  repelled  by  the  other.  The 
action,  mild  at  first,  becomes  more  and  more 
pronounced  until  the  suit  is  won.  At  half- 
past one  I took  my  departure,  first  being  de- 
sired to  return  the  following  morning. 

At  nine  o’clock  the  next  day  we  again 
marched  in  procession  to  the  church  to  hear 
mass.  The  bride  and  groom  knelt  together 
in  front  of  the  altar,  their  union  being  symbol- 
ized by  a heavy  silk  scarf,  which  was  so  draped 
over  them  that  it  formed  a graceful  head- 
dress for  the  bride  and  a mantle  for  the  groom 
at  the  same  time.  We  four  knelt  at  the  rear, 
my  compadre  and  I on  the  right  and  the  two 
madrinas  on  the  left.  Behind  us,  on  the  brick 
tiling,  alternately  sitting  and  kneeling,  were 
the  women  neighbors  and  friends  and  some 
regular  worshippers.  A few  men  stood  or 
knelt.  After  the  mass  we  went  again  to  the 
house  to  continue  the  dancing  and  feasting. 
When  the  orchestra  played  itself  out  in  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon,  and  was  ready  to  re- 
turn to  its  own  town,  I discovered  one  of  the 
additional  duties  of  a pcidrino  that  had  not  been 
mentioned,  which  was  to  pay  his  share  of  the 
musicians’  fees.  But  the  dancing  was  not  in- 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


195 


terrupted,  as  other  musicians  immediately 
stepped  into  the  places  of  those  departing. 

Having  complied  with  my  duties  as  well  as 
I was  able  up  to  four  o’clock  of  the  second  day, 
I asked  to  be  excused  from  further  attendance, 
and,  bidding  the  bride  and  groom,  my  com- 
padres  and  the  remaining  guests  adios , I went 
home  and  resumed  the  normal  life,  wondering 
at  the  endurance  which  enables  the  Filipino  to 
devote  thirty-six  consecutive  hours,  and  more, 
to  dancing  and  feasting. 

My  friend,  the  padre  of  Camagon,  was  one 
of  the  most  able  and  conscientious  clergymen 
I met  in  the  Islands.  He  was  a real  pastor  to 
his  flock  and  ministered  to  it  in  a way  that  won 
the  respect  and  love  of  every  member.  Dur- 
ing my  visits  I f requently  saw  him  leaving  the 
convent  seated  in  a talabon  borne  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  four  stout  taos,  to  extend  the  comforts 
of  religion  to  some  remote  parishioner.  Stat- 
ing as  his  reason  that  the  Pope  declined  to  ap- 
point Filipinos  to  bishoprics,  he  gave  alle- 
giance to  the  Aglipay  movement,  the  schism 
organized  by  the  Ilocano  priest  of  that  name, 
resulting  in  the  establishment  of  an  indepen- 
dentPhilippine  Catholic  church ; and  his  parish- 
ioners followed  his  lead.  They  contended  that 
inasmuch  as  the  church  building  and  convent 


196 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


were  erected  by  the  people  of  the  town  volun- 
tarily and  gratuitously,  and  for  their  own  use, 
it  was  their  own  property  and  not  that  of  the 
Roman  Church,  and  that  they  had  both  the 
moral  and  the  legal  right  to  use  it  as  they  saw 
fit.  This  claim  was  opposed  by  the  Romans 
and  the  matter  was  carried  to  the  courts.  In 
the  meantime  the  padre  and  his  flock  remained 
in  possession.  The  Aglipayanos  have  the  same 
organization  and  observe  the  same  customs  and 
ritual  as  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  make  little 
distinction  of  doctrine  or  creed,  except  that  they 
decline  to  recognize  the  Pope.  As  the  padre 
expressed  it,  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  is 
their  religion ; but  as  long  as  the  Pope  refuses 
to  recognize  the  Filipinos,  they  will  refuse 
to  recognize  the  Pope.  The  movement  was 
strong  in  certain  provinces  in  the  north,  but  in 
southern  Luzon  only  one  or  two  parishes  gave 
their  adherence. 

The  padre  was  educated  in  the  seminario  in 
Nueva  Caceres;  while  he  had  never  been  in 
Manila  he  took  a keen  interest  in  the  world’s 
affairs  and  discussed  them  intelligently.  He 
was  very  fond  of  chess,  and  was  particularly 
interested  in  the  United  States  and  things 
American.  He  took  an  active  interest  in  the 
public  school  and  from  the  pulpit  encouraged 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


197 


his  parishioners,  who  comprised  the  entire  pop- 
ulation of  the  town,  to  send  their  children  to  it. 
He  himself  visited  it  frequently,  and  as  per- 
mitted by  the  regulations  already  referred  to, 
instructed  the  children  in  their  religious  duties. 

Upon  the  return  journey  to  Nueva  Caceres 
around  the  southern  base  of  Isarog,  I passed 
through  a village  which,  before  the  decline  of 
rice  culture,  was  a thriving  town;  its  name  is 
Ma-bato-bato,  which  signifies  “the  place  of 
many  stones.”  Abandoned  by  all  except  the 
most  timorous  peasants,  the  village  has  fallen 
into  decay;  the  priest  moved  to  another  town, 
the  church  is  in  ruins,  and  the  dilapidated  con- 
vent is  occupied  by  the  very  poor  family  of 
the  consejal  who  represents  Ma-bato-bato  in 
the  municipal  council  of  Pili,  to  which  it  is  now 
attached  as  a barrio.  Arriving  one  afternoon 
about  four  o’clock,  I unsaddled  and  tethered 
my  pony  and  expressed  a wish  to  visit  the 
Negrito  village  lying  at  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tain, in  which  my  host,  the  consejal,  acqui- 
esced. After  tracing  a well-worn  footpath  for 
a couple  of  miles  we  came  upon  one  of  the  little 
blacks  building  a house  of  bamboo  and  cogon, 
the  tall,  coarse  grass  that  grows  everywhere 
on  Philippine  plains.  A few  words  of  expla- 
nation from  my  companion,  and  the  builder 


198 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


placed  his  working  bolo  in  its  sheath  and 
started  ahead  of  us  at  a rapid  pace  toward  the 
hamlet,  presently  losing  himself  to  view.  As 
we  approached  the  settlement  a mile  further 
on,  two  Negrito  men,  attired  in  “citizen’s” 
clothing,  came  out  to  meet  us.  These,  I was 
told,  were  the  head-man  and  his  principal  as- 
sistant. They  wore  their  clothing  awkwardly, 
and  very  evidently  had  donned  it  but  a few 
moments  before;  the  head-man  carried  a black 
cane  with  silver  handle  and  silk  tassel,  accord- 
ing to  Philippine  custom,  as  an  emblem  of  his 
authority.  By  way  of  greeting,  I thrust  out 
my  hand,  which  they  took  in  turn;  but  my 
handshake  met  with  no  more  response  than  a 
wooden  hand  might  give,  from  which  it  was 
evident  that  though  not  ignorant  of  the  cus- 
tom, they  were  not  used  to  it  in  practice.  Then 
we  all  turned  and  walked  toward  the  village. 

These  people,  I was  told,  had  only  recently 
come  down  from  the  mountain  with  the  resolve 
to  become  civilized.  They  had  built  twelve  or 
fourteen  small  houses,  which  stood  out  in  the 
brightness  of  fresh  material  on  the  two  sides 
of  the  wide  street.  Other  dwellings  were  in 
course  of  building.  At  the  edge  of  the  settle- 
ment, an  old  man  and  woman  were  just  com- 
ing down  from  the  mountain,  whither  they  had 


A Typical  Barrio  Scene. 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


199 


gone  in  the  morning  for  a supply  of  food. 
The  woman  carried  a large  basket  of  wild 
camotes  on  her  back,  supported  by  a strap 
passing  around  her  forehead  in  identically  the 
same  manner  that  the  Indian  squaws  of  north- 
ern California  carry  their  similarly  shaped 
baskets  of  acorns.  As  we  approached,  the  old 
couple  squatted  to  rest ; and  I stopped  to  talk 
with  them  with  the  consejal  as  interpreter. 
We  were  a polyglot  group;  the  Negritos  used 
their  own  dialect  and  knew  also  the  foreign 
Bicol;  the  consejal  spoke  Bicol  and  Spanish, 
and  I,  Spanish  and  English;  so  that,  in  the 
process  of  framing  our  thoughts  and  com- 
municating them  to  each  other  we  made  use  of 
four  languages. 

The  aged  man  carried  in  his  hand  the  hind 
quarters  of  a monkey,  which  he  had  brought 
down  from  the  trees  with  bow  and  arrow.  I 
asked  him  for  a small  piece,  and  he  cut  off  and 
gave  me  one  of  the  quarters.  In  rural  dis- 
tricts monkey  flesh  is  not  uncommon  as  an 
article  of  diet.  My  old  friend  wore  a small 
purse  or  reticule  suspended  from  his  neck  by 
a stout  string.  With  his  permission  I exam- 
ined its  contents,  finding  the  customary  betel- 
nut,  leaf  and  pulverized  lime,  some  dried  to- 
bacco leaves  and  a sharp  tooth — a bicuspid. 


200 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


“What  is  this?”  went  through  the  line  of  com- 
munication from  English  to  Isarog  Negrito. 
“A  monkey’s  tooth,”  was  the  answer.  “And 
what  is  it  for?”  “To  cure  the  toothache.”  “And 
how  do  you  use  it?”  Going  through  the  ap- 
propriate pantomime,  the  Negrito  answered, 
“You  place  it  against  the  aching  tooth,  be- 
tween the  tooth  and  the  cheek.”  And  if  the 
reader  doubt  the  efficacy  of  the  treatment,  I 
can  only  repeat  what  the  old  man  telegraphed 
me  with  his  eyes  as  I looked  at  him  searchingly 
— “If  you  doubt  the  virtue  of  the  remedy  try 
it  yourself.”  Who  was  the  happier  as  we 
parted,  myself  witli  the  purse  and  its  contents 
and  the  hind  quarter  of  the  monkey,  or  the 
Negrito  patriarch  with  a new  silver  peso , I 
shall  not  attempt  to  say. 

Our  party  then  went  on  to  the  dwelling  of 
the  head-man,  not  different  from  the  others 
in  size  or  architecture;  here  we  sat  upon  the 
bench  of  slats  built  around  two  sides  of  the 
room.  The  host  took  down  from  the  rafters 
within  easy  reach  a bottle  of  vile  native  wine,  of 
which  I partook  as  sparingly  as  possible  with- 
out seeming  to  dishonor  his  hospitality.  Sev- 
eral of  the  neighbors,  dressed  for  the  most  part 
like  poor  Christianized  Filipinos,  came  to  the 
house.  It  was  explained  that  as  soon  as  the 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


£01 


community  had  finished  the  house-building, 
the  principal  men  wished  to  visit  the  provincial 
capital  and  present  their  respects  to  the  gov- 
ernor, telling  him  at  the  same  time  that  they 
had  left  the  mountain,  made  a permanent  set- 
tlement and  proposed  to  lead  the  civilized  life. 
They  desired  that  I might  present  them  to  the 
governor  on  that  occasion,  which  I promised 
to  do.  Before  leaving,  I purchased  several 
bows  and  arrows  as  a memento  of  my  visit. 
That  evening  we  enjoyed  the  gamey  flavor  of 
roast  monkey  at  the  consejal’s  supper  table. 

Sometimes  as  I passed  back  and  forth  on  my 
journeys  I stopped  at  the  Palestina  leper  hos- 
pital near  Pili  to  rest  and  chat  with  my  friend 
the  superintendent,  a gray-haired  and  -whis- 
kered mestizo  gentleman  of  advanced  years 
and  benevolent  mien.  In  the  rambling,  dilapi- 
dated building  used  for  many  years  by  the 
Spanish  government  as  a leper  hospital,  ad- 
ministered by  the  friars,  the  good  doctor  re- 
ceived his  friends  with  generous  hospitality. 
Upon  the  occasion  of  my  first  visit,  in  company 
with  a friend,  we  partook  of  refreshments,  and 
then  went  to  view  the  hospital  and  inmates. 
First  we  passed  to  the  little  chapel,  beneath  the 
floor  of  which  members  of  the  doctor’s  family 
lie  buried.  On  either  side  of  the  altar  are 


202 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


rooms  with  open  gratings  of  iron,  where  for- 
merly the  patients  assembled  to  witness  the 
sacrament  of  the  mass ; but  in  these  later  years 
no  member  of  the  clergy  troubles  himself  to 
minister  to  them.  In  the  large  ward  for  men 
occupying  the  wing  of  the  building  hangs  a 
painting  representing  Saint  Lazarus  minister- 
ing to  lepers.  The  dozen  or  more  patients 
lined  up  at  the  request  of  the  doctor,  that 
he  might  distribute  the  cigars  which  we  had 
brought  for  them.  Several  cigars  were  handed 
to  each  of  the  men,  who  expressed  their  thanks 
as  we  left  the  room.  In  the  women’s  ward  a 
patient  was  nursing  her  young  infant;  here 
cigars  were  likewise  distributed  and  thanks  re- 
turned. 

The  condition  of  the  people  was  pitiable; 
their  faces  were  swollen  and  blotched,  the 
bridge  of  the  nose  was  usually  sunken  and 
sometimes  lacking,  arms  and  legs  were  with- 
ered and  deformed  and  all  had  raw  sores. 
Many  had  lost  fingers  and  toes,  the  scars  hav- 
ing healed  over;  some  had  their  feet  tied  up  in 
bandages,  evidently  to  prevent  further  loss. 
There  had  been  one  inmate  whose  entire  body 
was  covered  with  protuberances;  on  the  occa- 
sion of  this  visit  I missed  him  and  inquired 
what  had  become  of  him.  In  reply  I was  told 


PARTIDO  SKETCHES 


203 


that  after  he  had  been  a year  in  the  hospital  it 
was  discovered  that  he  did  not  have  the  leprosy, 
and  not  having  become  infected  meanwhile,  he 
had  been  discharged  and  allowed  to  return  to 
his  people.  From  this  occurrence,  and  the 
further  fact  that  the  superintendent’s  twelve- 
year-old  grandson  habitually  went  about  the 
buildings  and  grounds  in  bare  feet,  it  would 
appear  that  the  malady  is  not  necessarily  con- 
tagious. In  spite  of  watchfulness  an  inmate 
sometimes  escapes;  but  as  there  are  lepers  yet 
at  large  in  the  country  one  more  or  less  makes 
little  difference.  It  is  understood  that  upon 
the  completion  of  the  new  colony  at  Culion  the 
Palestina  hospital  will  be  closed  and  the  lepers 
transported  thither. 

From  Palestina  to  Nueva  Caceres  the  dis- 
tance is  short  and  the  road  is  good,  but  after 
a two  weeks’  absence  each  mile  lengthens  to 
treble.  . . . Shall  we  never  get  in?  . . . Ah, 
there  is  the  casci-gobierno  at  last.  . . . Hello, 
fellows!  has  there  been  any  mail  from  the 
States? 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  WEST  COAST 

Philippine  Hospitality — By  Talabon  to  Pasacao — 
Dalupaon — A New  School — Voyaging  in  the 
Rain — Up  the  Ragay  River — Refuge  and  Re- 
freshment— Second  Effort  Successful — Arrival 
at  Ragay — Municipal  Poverty — A Struggling 
Teacher — Similarity  of  Names — An  Astonished 
Medico. 

Leaving  Nueva  Caceres  one  day  at  noon  in 
a banca  rowed  by  three  men,  we  pulled  down 
the  Bicol  as  far  as  the  confluence  of  the  Pam- 
plona, then  up  this  stream  against  the  current 
to  the  town  of  the  same  name.  Never  was  I 
allowed  to  pass  tlirough  Pamplona  without  be- 
ing urgently  invited  by  the  juez  de  paz  to  stop 
at  his  home  for  refreshment.  His  was  the  only 
place  in  that  section  where  I could  be  sure  of 
getting  a drink  of  pure  water,  which  he  caught 
from  the  clouds  on  a galvanized  iron  roof  and 
stored  in  large  earthen  jars.  Frequently  must 
the  traveller  in  the  tropics  go  thirsty  if  he 
would  escape  the  risk  of  dysentery — until  he 

204 


THE  WEST  COAST 


205 


arrives  where  a green  cocoanut  may  be  had,  or 
at  a canteen;  for  he  is  sometimes  even  obliged 
to  drink  export  American  beer,  which,  however 
injurious  the  preservative  chemicals  it  con- 
tains, is  free  from  dangerous  germs.  So  that 
I was  always  more  than  willing  to  accept  the 
hospitality  of  the  juez — a warm  greeting,  a 
cup  of  chocolate  with  biscuit,  and  a friendly 
smoke.  It  is  such  men  as  he  that  make  life 
tolerable  for  us  itinerants  of  the  Philippines. 
May  they  receive  their  reward. 

Inspection  of  the  map  will  show  that  this 
portion  of  Luzon  is  very  narrow,  the  distance 
between  tidewater  on  the  east  and  west  coasts 
being  little  more  than  eight  miles.  To  make 
this  journey  from  Pamplona  to  Pasacao  I en- 
gaged a talabon — a chair  supported  on  two 
stout  poles  borne  upon  the  shoulders  of  four 
men.  The  motion  is  similar  to  that  of  riding  a 
camel,  and  where  the  road  is  good  one  prefers 
to  walk.  The  carriers  find  the  work  laborious 
and  must  rest  frequently.  One  wonders  that 
four  Filipinos  find  the  labor  arduous  when  two 
or  three  Chinese  coolies  in  their  own  country 
carry  a passenger  with  ease;  but  a little  re- 
flection shows  that  the  Chinese  are  larger  and 
stronger,  better  fed,  and  more  accustomed  to 
the  labor,  since  with  them  it  is  a daily  task. 


206 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


When  the  standard  of  living  among  the  Fili- 
pinos is  raised  as  a result  of  general  enlighten- 
ment and  by  means  of  the  simple  culinary 
lessons  now  taught  in  the  public  schools,  they 
will  be  a more  vigorous  people. 

At  Pasacao  the  native  teacher  had  been  very 
successful  in  teaching  his  pupils  to  speak 
English;  though  his  own  knowledge  was  lim- 
ited and  he  did  not  speak  idiomatically,  his 
boys  conversed  with  complete  readiness.  They 
came  around  that  evening  and  sang  their 
schools  songs  for  me — a repertoire  of  eight  or 
ten  pieces,  including  “America,”  all  of  which 
they  rendered  melodiously  from  memory. 
“How  many  American  children,”  I asked  my- 
self, “are  able  to  sing  the  national  hymn 
through  without  the  printed  words  before 
them?” 

North  of  Pasacao,  two  hours  by  baroto , lies 
the  barrio  of  Dalupaon,  a Tagalog  settlement 
of  timber  cutters  and  boat-builders,  employes 
of  a Manila  lumber  company.  Thither  I 
went  to  establish  a school  at  the  request  of 
the  company’s  manager,  who  volunteered  to 
pay  the  teacher’s  salary  from  his  personal 
funds,  in  view  of  the  poverty  of  the  munici- 
pality. I took  with  me  the  young  man  who 
was  to  teach,  together  with  some  supplies ; and 


THE  WEST  COAST 


207 


the  following  morning  the  school  opened  in  the 
little  chapel  which  the  generosity  of  the  com- 
pany had  provided  for  the  people.  Within  a 
week  there  were  forty  children  in  attendance, 
learning  to  use  English  conversational  phrases, 
to  read  the  first  lessons  of  the  chart,  to  count 
and  to  sing,  and  associating  these  esteemed 
privileges  with  the  handsome  American  flag 
which  floated  above  them.  The  hospitality 
dispensed  by  the  gentleman  who  managed  the 
company’s  affairs  wTas  something  long  to  be 
remembered,  as  also  were  the  pleasant  and 
picturesque  surroundings  of  the  settlement. 
Squared  logs  of  the  beautiful  hard  woods  from 
the  neighboring  forests  were  lying  in  the  water 
ready  to  be  loaded  on  the  bark  soon  to  arrive 
to  transport  them  to  Manila;  so  heavy  were 
they  that  they  sank  in  the  water  like  steel  gir- 
ders, and  would  have  to  be  buoyed  up  as  they 
were  towed  out  to  the  ship. 

Leaving  Dalupaon  in  one  of  the  company’s 
boats — a real  boat,  like  a ship’s  lifeboat,  and 
not  a dug-out  canoe— manned  by  five  Fili- 
pinos, four  to  pull  and  one  to  steer,  we  voy- 
aged along  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Ragay. 
An  hour  after  starting  a cold  rain  began.  For 
this  I was  well  prepared  with  raincoat,  oiled 
lap-cloth  and  umbrella;  but  the  boatmen  had 


208 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


nothing  of  the  kind,  and  it  was  only  a few  mo- 
ments until  their  thin  clothing  was  saturated. 
Their  constant  exercise  kept  them  warm  for 
the  first  hour  or  two,  and  after  that  they  took 
an  occasional  draught  from  a bottle  of  vino 
brought  for  the  purpose,  and  smoked  cigar- 
ettes. Of  these,  one  of  the  boatmen  would 
light  three  or  four  at  a time,  holding  all  to- 
gether in  his  mouth  so  as  to  make  one  match 
answer,  and  then  pass  the  extra  ones  along  to 
his  fellows.  The  wind  was  contrary  and  we 
made  slow  progress.  About  noon  we  arrived 
at  a narrow-necked  peninsula,  where  the  steers- 
man and  I landed  and  crossed  afoot  to  the 
other  side,  while  the  four  men,  shaking  with 
cold,  went  to  row  the  boat  around — an  hour’s 
pull.  My  companero  built  a fire  in  an  open 
shed  at  which  he,  and  later  the  other  four, 
tried  to  dry  their  clothing  and  warm  them- 
selves, but,  since  f agots  were  scarce,  with  scant 
success.  For  shelter  I made  use  of  an  aban- 
doned and  dilapidated  dwelling,  little  better 
than  the  shed,  for  no  fire  could  be  built  in  it, 
refreshing  myself  with  a lunch  of  sardines, 
soda  biscuit,  bananas  and  tansan  mineral 
water,  after  which  I dedicated  myself  to  the 
perusal  of  a novel  of  Philippine  life.  Mean- 
while the  boatmen  extracted  what  comfort 


THE  WEST  COAST 


209 


they  could  from  their  fire  and  the  food  I 
shared  with  them.  After  a half-hour’s  rest 
the  strongest  oarsman  waded  through  a hun- 
dred feet  of  shallow  water  to  the  boat  with  me 
on  his  shoulder.  This  method  of  embarking 
and  disembarking  on  a shelving  beach  is  com- 
mon, though  it  is  sometimes  varied  by  two  men 
interlacing  their  hands  and  arms  so  as  to  form 
a seat  for  the  passenger.  The  others  followed 
and  we  were  soon  on  our  watery  way  again. 
Notwithstanding  occasional  swallows  of  vino 
and  almost  constant  recourse  to  that  sovereign 
Philippine  remedy  for  cold— the  cigarette — 
the  men’s  teeth  chattered  audibly,  only  stop- 
ping at  intervals  to  allow  of  the  ejaculation, 
“Malilipot 

As  I sat  hour  after  hour  in  the  wide  stern- 
seat  of  the  boat,  gazing  at  the  dismal  view, 
clothing  wet  in  spite  of  protective  coverings,  I 
tried  to  imagine  that  I was  thoroughly  uncom- 
fortable and  unhappy;  but  I could  not.  There 
was  a joyousness  in  action,  a zest  in  travel  un- 
der those  strange  conditions,  that  was  exhila- 
rating ; and  particularly  so  when  I remembered 
that  I was  having  an  active,  even  though  a 
small  share,  in  so  magnificent  an  undertaking 
as  the  building  up  of  an  efficient  school  system 
for  an  unenlightened  but  receptive  and  capa- 


210 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


ble  people ; and  though  wet  and  hungry  I was 
glad  I was  there.  The  downpour  continued; 
the  wind  blew  so  strong  that  my  umbrella  had 
to  come  down,  and  it  was  four  o’clock  before 
we  reached  Binajian,  a small  settlement  of 
the  lumber  company’s  employes.  Here,  also,  I 
was  heartily  welcomed  by  the  agent  of  the 
company,  a Filipino,  and  his  family.  Soon,  in 
dry  clothing,  I was  seated  at  table  devouring 
savory  rice  and  fish  that  moment  from  the  sea, 
with  bananas  and  guava  jelly  for  dessert.  An- 
other product  of  Binajian  is  the  oysters  which 
attach  themselves  to  the  roots  and  trunks  of 
trees  growing  on  the  beach  which  are  sub- 
merged at  high  tide.  The  men,  having  secured 
the  boat  and  brought  in  the  portable  articles, 
speedily  made  themselves  comfortable  in  dry 
garments,  which  they  had  brought  with  them 
tied  in  pocket-handkerchiefs  and  stored  in  the 
lockers  of  the  boat.  They,  too,  had  rice  and 
fish;  and  after,  in  the  kitchen,  relaxation,  betel- 
nut  and  cigarettes,  accompanied  by  chat  with 
their  acquaintances  and  each  other. 

The  next  day  promised  clear  and  Ave  were 
off  again  by  seven;  but  at  mid-morning  it  be- 
gan to  rain.  By  noon,  the  rain  still  falling,  we 
entered  the  mouth  of  the  Ragay  River  on  our 
way  to  the  town  of  Ragay,  twenty  miles  up 


THE  WEST  COAST 


211 


stream.  After  an  hour’s  pulling  it  was  appar- 
ent that  the  river  was  much  swollen  by  the 
rains,  and  the  boat  was  heavy.  Notwithstand- 
ing, the  men  worked  with  vigor,  and  we  as- 
cended slowly.  In  another  hour  it  became 
plain  that  we  could  not  continue ; the  men  had 
become  weak  from  lack  of  food  since  morning 
and  from  long  exertion;  and  when  the  boat 
stood  still  for  five  minutes,  notwithstanding 
the  continued  effort  of  the  men  against  the 
current,  I gave  the  word  to  turn  around  and 
go  back  to  a barrio , a mile  inside  the  mouth. 
Travelling  with  the  current,  we  arrived  in 
short  order,  and  upon  explaining  our  predica- 
ment, were  hospitably  received  in  the  dwelling 
of  a tao,  whose  family  eked  out  a living  by 
manufacturing  salt  from  sea- water.  My  men 
were  soon  scouring  the  neighborhood  for  rice, 
camotes,  eggs  and  bananas;  presently  they 
came  back  with  some  camotes  and  a bunch  of 
plantains,  but  eggs  and  rice  were  not  to  be 
found.  The  women  of  the  house,  though  hav- 
ing previously  said  that  they  had  no  rice, 
brought  out  some  that  was  unhulled;  this  the 
men  pounded  in  a wooden  mortar  and  cooked 
at  the  same  time  with  the  other  food.  By  half- 
past five,  having  changed  our  wet  clothing  for 
dry,  we  ate  our  meal  with  our  fingers,  Philip- 


212 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


pine  fashion,  and  soon  again  saw  the  world 
through  rose-colored  spectacles.  That  was  the 
time  I discovered  the  palatability  of  boiled 
plantains. 

While  we  were  eating,  a tao  came  in  and 
announced  that  an  Americano  had  just  landed 
from  a small  boat;  he  proved,  a few  moments 
after,  to  be  a constabulary  lieutenant  who  had 
arrived  from  Pasacao  on  a parao  with  a cargo 
of  rice  for  the  detachment  at  Ragay.  He  con- 
sented to  accompany  us,  leaving  the  parao  in 
charge  of  a guard  until  the  river  should  fall; 
and  at  dusk  we  left  again  for  Ragay,  the  men 
well  heartened  by  the  f ood  and  rest.  This  time 
we  made  steady  though  very  slow  progress, 
successfully  pulling  through  the  swift  place 
which  had  proved  impassable  on  empty  stom- 
achs. At  midnight  the  lieutenant  and  I 
stepped  upon  the  bank  a mile  below  the  town, 
and  walked  the  remainder  of  the  distance 
through  dripping  cocoanut  groves  while  the 
men  pulled  the  lightened  boat  up  at  their 
leisure.  Ragay  had  been  the  scene  of  an  at- 
tack by  ladrones  a few  weeks  before,  and,  as 
we  went  by,  the  lieutenant  pointed  out  the  spot 
by  the  river  bank  where  the  mutilated  body  of 
the  presidents s wife  had  been  found.  She  had 
been  cruelly  murdered  because  her  husband 


THE  WEST  COAST 


213 


had  stood  out  against  the  demands  of  the 
ladrones,  not  only  refusing  to  aid  them  but 
taking  the  off ensive  against  them. 

After  a moment’s  stop  for  identification  in 
response  to  the  challenge  of  the  constabulary 
sentries,  we  made  our  way  to  the  lieutenant’s 
quarters,  where  his  cook  soon  had  supper  un- 
der way,  to  which  we  devoted  our  attention  at 
one  o’clock  in  the  morning.  Ragay  had  been 
razed  to  the  ground  during  the  resistance  to 
American  occupation,  and  I found  not  a single 
stone  or  frame  building  in  it,  except  the  ruined 
church;  in  this  the  sessions  of  the  school  were 
held  until  a good  nipa  school-house  was  built 
with  the  aid  of  the  government  rice.  Without 
this  aid  the  town  would  have  had  no  school- 
house  for  years;  the  extreme  poverty  of  many 
of  the  small  municipalities  in  the  Islands  is 
almost  beyond  belief.  In  such  a town  as 
Ragay,  for  example,  the  salary  of  the  presi- 
dente  is  ten  or  fifteen  pesos  a month;  the  secre- 
tary and  the  treasurer  receive  about  the  same ; 
the  teacher  a little  more — fifteen  or  twenty 
pesos;  the  six  or  eight  men  composing  the  po- 
lice force  receive  six  or  eight  pesos  monthly, 
each.  Miscellaneous  expenses  of  administra- 
tion, repairs  to  roads  and  bridges,  etc.,  amount 
to  fifty  or  one  hundred  pesos  annually.  Allow- 


£14  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

ing  the  maximum  salaries  named  and  one  hun- 
dred pesos  for  general  expenses,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  total  annual  expenditure  is  about  six- 
teen hundred  and  fifty  pesos,  Philippine  cur- 
rency or  eight  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars 
of  United  States  money;  and  I have  known  of 
several  towns  of  from  fifteen  hundred  to 
twenty-five  hundred  people  which  were  obliged 
to  confine  their  expenditures  to  half  of  that 
sum. 

The  next  day  I found  the  Filipino  teacher 
manfully  struggling  single-handed  with  a 
daily  attendance  of  over  two  hundred  children, 
without  desks  or  benches,  and  with  an  insuffi- 
cient number  of  text-books  and  other  mate- 
rials, an  attendance  much  greater  than  had 
been  anticipated  when  the  school  was  estab- 
lished. The  problem  was  partly  solved  by  the 
appointment  of  a bright  young  man  who  had 
had  several  months  of  English  schooling  as 
assistant  teacher,  and  by  ordering  additional 
supplies.  Since  the  municipality  was  unable 
to  pay  two  teachers,  the  insular  government 
came  to  its  aid  and  thereafter  paid  the  prin- 
cipal teacher’s  salary. 

It  was  at  Ragay  that  I observed  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a remarkable  similarity  in  the 
surnames  of  the  school  children.  “What  is 


THE  WEST  COAST 


215 


your  name?”  I asked  a boy.  “My  name  is  Juan 
Ceciliopo,”  he  replied.  “And  yours?”  to  an- 
other. “Matias  Teodoropo.”  And  I found 
Alindadapo,  Mendozapo,  Ramirezpo  and 
many  others  ending  in  the  same  syllable.  The 
puzzle  was  solved  presently  by  my  recollecting 
that  po  is  Tagalog  for  sir , and  that  the  little 
fellows  had  only  been  using  the  customary 
title  of  respect.  It  is  said  that  in  some  towns 
all  of  the  family  names  begin  with  the  same 
letter  of  the  alphabet,  as  Abella,  Alba,  Alca- 
zar, Almazan,  Amador,  etc.  This  arrangement 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  1849  alphabetical  lists 
of  Spanish  surnames  were  sent  out  from  Ma- 
nila to  the  different  provinces,  from  which  the 
Filipinos,  who  up  to  that  time  had  possessed 
but  one  name  each,  were  to  make  their  selec- 
tions. These  lists  were  apportioned  among  the 
respective  towns,  and  each  head  of  a family 
then  chose  that  name  which  pleased  him  best. 

It  was  near  Ragay,  I believe,  that  a physi- 
cian representing  the  insular  health  board  had 
been  impressed  with  the  rapid  spread  of  Eng- 
lish speaking.  Heated  and  thirsty  from 
mountain  travelling,  by  the  side  of  a river  he 
came  upon  a little  girl  whom  he  asked  in  Tag- 
alog for  a drink  of  water.  She  went  up  the 
bank  to  the  house,  and  returned  directly  with 


£16  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


a large  glass  filled  with  clear  water.  After 
drinking,  the  doctor  returned  the  glass  with  a 
polite  “Salamat,”  upon  which  the  little  one, 
coyly  looking  up  into  his  eyes,  returned, 
“Don’t  mention  it,”  which  so  astonished  and 
delighted  the  good  doctor  that  he  was  never 
able  to  finish  telling  about  it. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


AMONG  THE  CAMARINES  TAGALOGS 

The  Daet  and  Indan  Roads — Hardships  of  Travel — 
Supervisory  Duties — A Twelve-hour  Day — One 
Christmas  Eve — A Chagrined  Tao — Affairs  in 
Matango — By  Water  to  Paracale — The  Old 
Ferryman — The  Paracale  Mines — Journey  to 
Mambulao — An  Iguana — Events  in  Mambulao — 
A Voyage  by  Banca  on  San  Miguel  Bay. 

While  Ambos  Camarines  is  known  as  a 
Bicol  province,  there  are  six  towns  of  Taga- 
logs  in  Camarines  Norte.  The  Bicol  race 
flows  over  the  geographical  boundary  between 
the  former  provinces  and  meets  the  Tagalog 
in  Daet  and  Talisay,  where  the  tribes  mingle 
and  both  dialects  are  spoken  interchangeably. 
Reference  has  already  been  made,  in  a pre- 
ceding chapter,  to  the  wide-awake  town  of 
Daet  and  its  schools. 

The  roads  about  Daet  and  Indan,  the  next 
municipality  north,  are,  during  the  rainy  sea- 
son, the  worst  it  has  ever  been  my  fortune  to 
pass  over,  so  that  it  was  an  actual  hardship  for 
the  supervising  teachers  of  the  Daet  and  In- 

217 


218 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


dan  districts  to  perform  their  duty;  but  this 
they  nevertheless  did,  with  loyalty  and  patience 
and  as  great  cheerfulness  as  could  be  expected 
of  any  optimist.  Eating  his  breakfast  by 
lamplight,  the  Indan  teacher,  mounted  on  his 
pony,  with  packages  containing  his  lunch  and 
a fresh  suit  of  clothing  tied  to  the  saddle,  was 
away  by  seven  o’clock.  For  any  vehicle  but 
the  rude  two-wheeled  carabao- cart  the  roads 
were  altogether  impassable,  and  even  these 
made  detours  through  the  paddy  to  one  side  or 
the  other  at  frequent  intervals.  Their  wooden 
axles  skimmed  the  water  or  scraped  the  mud. 
Almost  daily  a cart  became  stuck  in  a bache 
and  had  to  be  unloaded  and  dug  out ; wrecks  of 
those  buried  and  abandoned  were  sometimes 
to  be  seen.  No  animal  but  the  semi-amphibi- 
ous carabao  can  be  worked  on  such  roads.  Go- 
ing to  Daet  they  haul  hemp — two  bales;  with 
good  roads,  six  or  seven  might  be  carried.  On 
the  return,  they  bring  rice  or  general  merchan- 
dise, or  come  back  empty.  To  the  unaccus- 
tomed traveller  the  experience  of  traversing 
these  roads  is  like  a nightmare.  The  teacher’s 
pony  sinks  knee  deep  into  the  stiff  mud  and 
can  hardly  withdraw  its  unshod  feet.  Going 
through  the  water  and  soft  mud  of  a large 
puddle  the  animal  is  immersed  to  its  flanks,  and 


THE  CAMARINES  TAGALOGS  219 


the  rider  is  obliged  to  draw  up  his  feet  to  keep 
them  clear  of  the  water.  Occasionally  the 
beast  becomes  mired  and  sinks  exhausted  until 
the  rider  relieves  him  of  his  weight  and,  him- 
self wading  through  the  mud,  pulls  him  to  his 
feet.  Splash,  splatter,  carefully  feeling  each 
step,  now  down  into  a hole,  then  upon  a small 
knoll,  again  along  a slippery  ridge,  pony  and 
teacher  wrork  their  way.  Mayhap  it  rains,  if 
so,  no  difference;  that  is  a part  of  the  life; 
for  protection  the  teacher  hastily  unties  his 
poncho  and  slips  it  over  his  head,  but,  being 
impervious  to  air  as  well  as  to  water,  it  is 
so  warm  that  he  is  glad  to  slip  it  off  again  even 
before  the  shower  has  ceased — better  to  be  wet 
than  suff er  such  heat.  The  down  approach  to 
a stream  is  so  boggy  that  the  pony  refuses  to 
proceed  until  he  is  switched  severely,  when  he 
plunges  in  in  sheer  desperation ; so  laborious  is 
the  ascent  on  the  opposite  side  that  he  must 
stop  at  the  top  to  breathe. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  second  mile  is  a wide 
pool,  with  vertical  bank,  which  the  pony  re- 
fuses to  enter;  no  amount  of  urging  prevails; 
then  the  teacher  plunges  in  almost  to  his  thighs 
and  attempts  to  drag  his  mount  in  by  the  reins ; 
the  beast  still  refuses  to  leave  the  solid  earth  un- 
til a tao  comes  along  and  whips  from  behind 


220 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


while  the  teacher  tugs  at  the  reins ; the  plunge 
is  made,  after  which  progress  to  the  other  bank 
is  easy.  Now  they  make  a detour  through  the 
rice-field  to  avoid  a still  worse  hole,  where  the 
remains  of  a cart  give  warning,  then  through 
a succession  of  baches , some  of  soft  mud,  some 
of  stiff,  and  so  on,  spatter,  spatter,  squash,  un- 
til the  second  mile  has  been  covered  and  the 
teacher,  looking  at  his  watch,  finds  that  he  has 
been  a half-hour  on  the  way.  Two  additional 
miles  of  similar  travel  remain,  so  that  it  is  after 
eight  o’clock  when,  covered  with  mud,  he  ar- 
rives at  the  presidencia.  The  policeman  on 
duty  unsaddles  and  tethers  the  horse ; while  the 
teacher  changes  his  wet  and  muddy  khaki  suit 
for  the  one  of  immaculate  white,  and  puts  on 
a pair  of  dry  shoes  he  keeps  at  the  presidencia 
for  the  purpose,  he  hears  the  childish  melody 
of  “The  Mango  Tree”  coming  from  the 
school-house  opposite,  where  he  arrives  at  the 
close  of  the  opening  exercises. 

Here  he  remains  through  the  session;  he 
listens  to  the  recitations,  aids  the  native  teach- 
ers, makes  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of 
the  seating  arrangements,  inspects  the  regis- 
ter, inquires  why  Paz  has  left  school  and  what 
is  the  cause  of  Moises’s  absence  for  the  last 
three  days,  and  himself  teaches  the  first  class 


THE  CAMARINES  TAGALOGS  221 


in  arithmetic.  During  the  noon  hour  he  ex- 
amines the  teachers’  outlines  for  the  lessons  of 
the  ensuing  week,  assists  them  with  the  report 
of  attendance,  interviews  the  presidente  on  the 
subject  of  the  new  seats  which  are  required 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  twenty  odd  chil- 
dren who  now  sit  on  the  floor,  and  finds  time 
after  lunch  to  visit  Ricardo,  who  has  been  ill 
with  fever  for  a week.  At  the  close  of  the 
afternoon  session  he  dons  his  muddy  cloth- 
ing and  wet  shoes,  and,  mounting  the  pony, 
turns  his  face  homeward  and  again  flounders 
through  those  interminable  mud  holes.  He 
arrives  at  dark.  During  the  twelve  hours  of 
daylight  he  has  been  momentarily  busy;  and 
this  is  his  programme  four  days  of  every  week, 
the  term  through,  except  that  some  days  he 
visits  two  schools.  Little  wonder  that  he  has 
won  the  confidence  and  good-will  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  cooperation  of  the  officials;  that 
his  schools  are  thriving;  that  the  little  Filipinos 
enjoy  coming  to  school  and  are  making  rapid 
strides  forward,  so  that  their  outlook  upon  life 
will  be  much  wider  and  their  understanding  of 
its  problems  much  more  intelligent  than  that 
of  their  forebears. 

My  occasional  journeys  over  the  Daet  and 
Indan  roads  were  made  sometimes  on  horse- 


222  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

back  and  sometimes  afoot.  Being  called  from 
Daet  by  telegram  one  Christmas  Eve,  I started 
on  horseback  on  the  four-mile  trip  to  Mer- 
cedes, the  port,  but  my  pony  floundered  so  and 
made  such  indifferent  progress  that  I con- 
cluded I could  do  better  afoot.  Sending  the 
animal  back  I walked  ankle  deep  in  the  mud.  I 
was  able  to  pass  around  a huge  hole  of  soft  mud 
and  water  so  deep  that  the  carabao  became 
two-thirds  submerged  in  its  oozy  softness. 
Darkness  fell  rapidly,  as  it  does  in  the  tropics, 
and  soon  I was  unable  to  see  where  I stepped. 
The  mud  became  deeper,  sometimes  reaching 
my  knees,  sometimes  going  above  them.  When 
at  length  I arrived  at  the  beach  I waded  into 
the  sea  thigh  deep  so  as  to  wash  the  worst  of 
the  mud  from  my  clothing  before  going 
aboard  the  ship. 

At  another  time  when  the  roads  were  partly 
dried  I walked  from  Indan  to  Talisay,  accom- 
panied by  a barefooted  tao  who  carried  my 
valise.  Coming  to  a baclie  too  long  to  go 
around  and  too  wide  to  leap  I asked  my  com- 
panion to  carry  me  across — a custom  frequent 
in  the  Philippines.  He  acceded  readily,  picked 
me  up  in  his  arms  bravely  and  started  in,  feel- 
ing his  way  with  his  feet.  Apparently  my 
avoirdupois  was  more  than  he  was  accustomed 


THE  C AMARINES  TAGALOGS  223 


to  bear,  for  I felt  myself  slipping  from  his 
grasp.  As  I clung  to  his  neck  he  continued  his 
cautious  way  until  we  were  in  the  deepest 
part  of  the  pool  two-thirds  of  the  way  across, 
when  his  strength  gave  out  completely  and  he 
dropped  me  where  he  stood.  The  situation 
was  so  amusing  that  I could  not  help  laughing 
heartily,  which  seemed  to  assure  the  much  cha- 
grined man  that  he  was  forgiven.  In  such 
manner  I travelled  among  the  towns  of  Indan, 
San  Vicente,  Labo,  and  Talisay  and  their 
barrios,  having  recourse  at  times  to  banca  or 
carabao-sled  if  more  convenient. 

These  Tagalog  towns  gave  generous  sup- 
port to  the  schools.  Of  the  barrios,  even 
Matango,  an  impoverished  hamlet  lying  at  the 
head  of  one  of  the  sloughs  which  form  a net- 
work at  the  mouth  of  the  Labo  River,  wanted  a 
school.  The  people  said  they  would  willingly 
pay  a teacher  by  private  subscription  if  the 
government  would  but  establish  and  supervise 
the  school.  So,  soon  after,  instruction  was  be- 
gun in  a poor  nipa  structure,  which  on  occasion 
served  as  an  ermita  or  chapel;  the  young  man 
teacher  struggled  along  with  a small,  old 
blackboard  left  over  from  Spanish  times,  a few 
pieces  of  crayon  and  a chart,  until  we  could  get 
supplies  to  him — an  uncertain  undertaking  at 


224 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


that  time  of  year.  As  I foresaw,  the  people 
were  unable  to  raise  sufficient  money  to  pay  the 
teacher’s  wage;  there  were  very  few  men  in 
the  barrio  who  handled  ten  pesos  a month,  and 
the  great  majority  saw  not  one-fifth  of  that 
sum.  So  the  municipal  council  of  Indan,  of 
which  Matango  is  a barrio , came  to  the  rescue 
of  the  school  and  engaged  to  pay  the  teacher 
from  the  scant  municipal  funds.  Soon  after, 
the  provincial  board  awarded  fifty  sacks  of  the 
government  rice  to  build  a school-house;  and 
the  next  time  I arrived  I found  one  of  the 
neatest  little  nipa  school-houses  which  it  has 
been  my  fortune  to  see.  So  that  Matango, 
with  its  new  school  of  beautiful  brown  nipa  and 
a new  flag  floating  above,  is  looking  up  in  the 
world.  As  an  edifying  influence  within  its 
own  sphere,  the  nipa  school-house  of  the  Phil- 
ippines bids  fair  to  outdo  its  prototype,  the 
“little  red  school-house”  of  the  United  States. 
Xow,  when  the  superintendent  stops  at  Ma- 
tango over  night,  as  he  is  usually  obliged  to 
do,  he  sleeps  on  the  floor  of  the  school-house. 
To  circumvent  the  mosquitoes  which  infest  the 
place  in  dense  swarms,  he  suspends  a mosquito- 
net  from  ropes  or  strands  of  bejuco , and  care- 
fully tucks  the  edges  under  the  petate.  Some 
of  the  neighbors  creep  under  the  building  and 


THE  CAMARINES  TAGALOGS  225 


make  a smudge  which  stupefies  the  pests  long 
enough  to  enable  him  to  eat  his  meal  and  drink 
the  water  of  a green  cocoanut;  then  he  crawls 
under  the  net  and  goes  to  sleep.  Though  it  is 
not  a pleasant  place  in  which  to  stop,  even  for 
one  night,  the  simple  hospitality  of  the  people 
makes  one  glad. 

From  Matango  to  Paracale  the  distance  is 
twelve  miles.  There  had  been  heavy  rains  and 
the  trail  was  under  water.  Horses  were  scarce, 
and  besides  there  were  two  sloughs  impassable 
except  by  foot-bridges  of  bamboo  poles.  For 
half-mile  stretches  we  waded  in  water  knee- 
deep;  at  times  it  came  over  the  knees  and  the 
commotion  produced  by  walking  wet  us  to  the 
thighs;  but  happily  the  earth  underneath  was 
solid.  Arriving  at  the  river  bank,  according  to 
custom  I beat  a hollow  piece  of  bamboo  with 
a stick  to  call  the  old  ferryman  from  the 
opposite  side;  but  he  evidently  thought  there 
could  be  no  occasion  for  haste  and  did  not 
appear.  Then,  upon  the  advice  of  a native,  I 
discharged  my  revolver,  thereby  conveying  the 
information  that  an  American  and  not  a Fili- 
pino desired  transportation,  for  the  latter  is 
not  permitted  to  carry  firearms  ;*  and  instantly 

♦Except  under  bond.  The  prohibition  applies  to  Americans 
as  well. 


226 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


the  old  man  emerged  from  a hut  and  shoved 
off  in  his  banca,  well  knowing  that  the  prospec- 
tive fee  would  be  double  or  treble  the  ordinary 
sum.  Another  mile  over  the  mountain,  the 
trail  slippery  with  mica,  over  the  long  bridge 
across  the  estuary  where  the  school-boys  swim, 
and  we  had  arrived  in  the  poblacion  of  Para- 
cale. 

This  town  is  delightfully  situated  on  a nar- 
row plain  between  coast  and  mountain;  the 
sea-breeze  tempers  the  heat  and  drives  away 
the  mosquitoes,  and  the  mountains  supply  the 
purest  water.  An  old  wooden  watch-tower 
recalls  the  perilous  times  of  the  Moro  pirates. 
The  mountains  round  about  are  pierced  with 
both  perpendicular  and  horizontal  shafts  made 
by  the  native  miners  of  old,  who  dug  gold  until 
they  penetrated  the  earth  as  far  as  their  crude 
appliances  for  pumping  water  permitted.  The 
mines  must  have  existed  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Spaniards,  for  in  1572,  the  year  following 
the  founding  of  Manila,  Captain  Juan  Sal- 
cedo went  with  a party  to  inspect  them.  Many 
stories  of  their  former  richness  are  told  by  the 
people.  I talked  with  the  parish  priest  of 
Indan  whose  family  formerly  owned  the  fa- 
mous Tumbaga  Mine  near  Mambulao.  Many 
vessels  of  gold  were  owned  by  them,  the  last 


THE  CAMARINES  TAGALOGS  227 


of  which  remained  until  the  present  genera- 
tion. It  is  related  that  the  family  caused  to 
be  manufactured  by  native  goldsmiths  a hen 
and  a flock  of  chicks,  all  life-size,  of  the  pure 
gold,  which  they  sent  as  a gift  to  the  Queen  of 
Spain.  Even  to  this  day,  it  is  said,  the  children 
of  Paracale  wear  necklaces  and  crosses  of  gold 
instead  of  the  cheap  ornaments  in  vogue  else- 
where. The  history  and  romance  of  these 
mines  would  make  a theme  worthy  of  a Rider 
Haggard.  Whether  sufficient  of  the  gold  re- 
mains to  pay  for  the  exploitation  of  the  mines 
with  modern  machinery  is  best  known  to  those 
now  in  possession. 

On  the  occasion  of  another  trip  to  this  sec- 
tion I took  with  me  a young  man  from  the 
Provincial  School  to  install  as  teacher  of 
Mambulao,  sixteen  miles  north  of  Paracale. 
Mambulao  is  so  poor  that  it  cannot  pay  the 
salary  of  even  a single  teacher;  so  that,  as  in 
other  similar  cases,  the  insular  government  met 
that  expense.  We  took  with  us  a box  of  school 
supplies  which  required  six  men  to  transport. 
The  journey  was  pleasantly  varied — most  of 
the  distance  along  the  beach,  where,  the  tide 
out,  we  walked  on  the  firm,  hard  sands.  We 
waded,  thigh-deep,  a stream  which  the  natives 
said  contained  crocodiles;  but  none  appeared. 


228 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Resting  under  a tree  was  a native  who  had 
some  leaves  of  a curious  pitcher  plant;  he 
showed  us  where  it  grew  so  that  we  might  pro- 
cure some  on  the  way  back;  but  we  missed  the 
place. 

The  last  third  of  the  walk  was  over  the 
Mambulao  Mountain,  a stiff  climb  at  mid-day. 
In  the  forests  through  which  the  trail  twisted 
I found  strange  forms  of  seed-pods  and  new 
kinds  of  fruits.  Descending,  I strode  in  ad- 
vance; happening  to  look  up  the  mountain 
side  I saw  what  appeared  to  be  a group  of  boys 
running  this  way  and  that  and  evidently  pur- 
suing some  animal ; they  advanced  and  retired, 
meanwhile  picking  up  large  stones  and  casting 
them  at  something  on  the  ground;  immedi- 
ately I realized  that  they  were  our  cargadores. 
Going  up  to  them  as  quickly  as  the  precipitous 
mountain  side  would  allow,  I found  that  they 
had  attacked  and  disabled  a large  iguana, 
which,  however,  was  still  moving.  After  I 
shot  him  we  straightened  his  body  and  tail  and 
found  him  to  be  a good  six  feet  long.  The 
men  were  overjoyed;  that  night  they  feasted 
on  iguana  flesh. 

The  president e being  absent,  the  secretary 
made  me  his  guest,  while  Narciso,  the  new 
teacher,  found  a friend  whom  he  visited.  My 


THE  C AMARINES  TAGALOGS  229 


first  request  was  that  a bandillo  be  published 
announcing  to  the  citizens  that  a teacher  of 
English  had  arrived  and  that  school  would 
begin  the  following  day.  My  second  was 
to  be  directed  to  the  cool  mountain  stream 
from  which  the  people  supply  themselves  with 
water,  and  having  found  a suitable  pool,  I 
enjoyed  a bath  such  as  the  lowlands  seldom 
aff ord.  That  evening  we  paid  a call  of  respect 
to  the  parish  priest,  an  old  man  whose  coun- 
tenance portrays  great  strength  of  character; 
he  has  ministered  to  two  generations  of  people 
and  is  now  serving  the  third.  He  is  the  owner 
of  the  only  horse  in  or  around  Mambulao, 
upon  which,  at  rare  intervals,  he  rides  over  the 
mountain  to  Paracale.  As  we  went  home,  the 
town-crier  was  beating  his  drum  at  a street 
corner  and  announcing  the  opening  of  school. 
Though  the  Filipino  is  averse  to  doing  things 
on  short  notice,  more  than  thirty  children  pre- 
sented themselves  for  enrollment  the  next 
morning  at  the  presidencia,  which  was  tempo- 
rarily converted  into  a school.  The  new  build- 
ing had  already  been  begun;  the  huge  harigues 
were  in  place  and  the  roof  was  finished ; mate- 
rials for  the  walls  and  floor  were  on  hand,  some 
donated  by  citizens,  but  the  larger  portion  pur- 
chased with  the  government  rice.  Within  a 


230 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


week  the  attendance  increased  to  sixty,  and  it 
was  not  long  after  until  Narciso  was  asking  for 
an  assistant.  He  kept  me  informed  of  the  con- 
dition and  needs  of  the  school,  and  related  how 
he  took  his  pupils  to  walk  on  the  beach  where 
they  sometimes  rested  and  sang  “America” — 
“a  song,”  he  said,  “which  they  had  not  hitherto 
known.” 

My  visit  to  Mambulao  took  place  soon  after 
the  Fourth  of  July.  The  secretary  recounted 
to  me  how  the  town  officials  and  members  of 
the  council  had  formed  a procession,  and  with 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  at  the  head,  marched 
through  the  streets  to  the  music  of  the  town 
band.  With  vivas  and  shouting  they  marked 
the  day.  “What,”  said  the  secretary,  “must 
have  been  the  animation  in  large  places  when 
the  enthusiasm  in  Mambulao  was  so  intense?” 

Upon  my  rearrival  at  Daet  the  presidente 
telephoned  the  lenient e at  Mercedes  to  engage 
canoe  transportation  for  my  return  to  Nueva 
Caceres;  so  that  when  I arrived  at  the  port  I 
found  a barefooted  fisherman,  an  American 
ex-soldier,  about  to  depart  in  his  little  banco, 
rigged  with  a light  sail,  for  his  home  on  San 
Miguel  Bay  near  the  mouth  of  the  Bicol;  and 
with  him,  although  I did  not  altogether  fancy 


THE  CAMARINES  TAGALOGS  231 


his  outfit,  I took  passage.  The  swells  coming 
in  from  the  ocean,  though  house-high,  offered 
no  danger  to  our  craft,  for  the  water  was 
smooth ; up,  up,  up  she  rose  and  then  seemed  to 
fall  like  a rapidly  descending  elevator — this 
without  a ripple  on  the  surface.  But  we  soon 
turned  south  between  Canimo  Island  and  the 
mainland,  where  we  no  longer  felt  the  force  of 
the  swell.  Then,  too,  what  little  breeze  had 
been  blowing  was  shut  out ; and  upon  the  crew 
of  two  Filipinos — old  Tom,  who  was  almost 
blind,  and  a young  man  who  knew  nothing 
about  boats — devolved  the  labor  of  pulling. 
Slowly  we  advanced,  hour  by  hour,  until  we 
made  a small  island,  where  we  landed  and  re- 
freshed ourselves  with  draughts  of  cool  cocoa- 
nut  water,  and  a little  later  a meal  of  boiled  rice 
and  fish,  which  the  men  cooked  on  the  earthen 
floor  of  a structure  which  only  by  courtesy 
could  be  called  a house. 

After  we  embarked  again  we  progressed  so 
slowly  that  the  sun  went  down  before  we  ar- 
rived off  the  mountainous  point  jutting  into 
the  bay  just  north  of  Lalauigan.  From  the 
nipa  houses  standing  along  the  shore  from  two 
to  five  miles  distant,  the  lights  beckoned  us  on, 
but  the  banca  seemed  to  stand  still.  It  was  evi- 
dent, then,  that  not  only  the  outgoing  tide  was 


232 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


checking  our  speed,  but  that  there  was  an  un- 
usually strong  current  as  well  bearing  past  the 
point  out  to  sea.  The  bay  was  smooth  and  we 
were  not  the  least  apprehensive  until,  without 
warning,  several  long  breakers  arose  in  quick 
succession  out  of  the  darkness  and  tumbled 
their  crests  into  our  little  banca,  half  filling  it 
with  water  and  wetting  us  to  the  skin.  Seizing 
a small  piece  of  hollow  bamboo  kept  for  the 
purpose  I went  to  bailing,  but  I might  almost 
as  well  have  used  a spoon.  It  was  so  dark  that 
the  steersman  could  not  see  to  keep  the  boat 
at  right  angles  to  the  long  crests ; and  therein 
lay  our  danger.  Removing  my  shoes  and  most 
of  my  clothing  to  be  free  of  encumbrance 
should  we  be  thrown  into  the  water,  I bailed 
again.  In  five  minutes,  when  we  began  to 
feel  a little  security,  several  more  of  those 
awful,  silent  swells  arose  and  broke  into  our 
little  craft  before  its  bow  could  be  pointed 
aright.  “Stick  to  the  boat,”  the  American 
cried,  “in  case  we  fill  completely.” 

Sitting  in  the  water,  I bailed  with  all  the 
strength  I was  able  to  command,  reflecting 
meanwhile  that  we  were  a mile  from  the  shore, 
that  there  was  a strong  current  flowing  away 
from  it,  and  that  the  beach  was  so  rocky  that, 
even  if  we  should  reach  it  by  swimming  we 


THE  CAMARINES  TAGALOGS  233 


should  in  all  probability  be  dashed  and  torn  on 
the  rocks.  The  steersman  peered  into  the 
darkness  in  an  effort  to  discern  the  lights  and 
keep  the  craft  at  right  angles  to  the  swells. 
Blind  Tom  and  the  youth  pulled  with  all  their 
might  while  I kept  on  bailing.  The  third  time 
the  swells  rose  and  emptied  what  seemed  to  be 
the  greater  part  of  their  volume  into  the  boat ; 
but  there  was  nothing  to  do  now  but  keep  cool 
and  bail,  bail,  bail.  I wondered  if  the  banca, 
made  of  heavy  wood,  would  continue  to  float 
if  filled,  whether  there  were  any  sharks  in  the 
vicinity  and  if  not  how  far  off*  they  might  be. 
The  period  of  peril  and  apprehension  must  have 
lasted  an  hour;  in  that  time  we  made  scarcely 
perceptible  headway.  But  the  danger,  if  not 
the  suspense,  was  now  past.  The  boat  was 
kept  pointed  aright  and  the  mysterious  swells 
ceased  to  surge.  Presently  the  tide  turned, 
which  lessened  the  rapidity  of  the  current ; and 
lights  from  some  shore  houses  came  again 
into  view.  I kept  up  the  bailing  until  most  of 
the  water  was  out  of  the  boat,  by  which  time 
I was  glad  to  rest.  We  were  now  past  the 
treacherous  point  and  pulled  toward  the  shore, 
luckily  being  able  to  discern  the  light  color  of  a 
sandy  stretch  of  beach  upon  which  we  glided. 

For  the  firmness  of  the  earth  beneath  my 


£34  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

feet  after  such  a fright  I was  thankful,  and 
I resolved  never  again  to  trust  myself  on  the 
sea  in  such  a diminutive  boat  manned  by  a 
worthless  crew  and  captained  by  a none  too 
careful  skipper.  Making  our  way  toward  a 
blur  in  the  darkness,  which  proved  to  be  a 
dwelling,  it  being  almost  midnight,  we  awak- 
ened the  sleeping  family,  who  arose,  lighted  a 
torch,  and  simultaneously  opened  their  hearts 
and  their  home;  and  I was  soon  asleep  on  the 
floor.  Early  the  next  morning  the  three  men 
launched  the  boat  and  went  on  to  the  fisher- 
man’s home,  while,  as  had  been  arranged,  I 
walked  along  the  shore  of  the  bay.  Arriving 
at  the  home  of  my  fellow-countryman,  I was 
informed  by  his  native  wife  that  he  had  gone 
out  to  fish  his  traps.  While  awaiting  his 
return  I explored  the  neighborhood,  made 
friends  with  some  children,  and  lay  down  upon 
the  floor  of  the  dwelling  to  read  a soiled  copy 
of  the  Manila  Times  of  the  previous  month. 
Presently  my  host  returned  with  his  catch  and 
before  long  we  enjoyed  a feast. 

After  this,  in  spite  of  my  resolution  of  the 
previous  night,  I sat  again  in  the  small  banca 
(there  was  no  other  means  of  getting  away), 
and  we  skimmed  across  the  end  of  the  bay  to 
Cabusao,  propelled  by  the  stiff  breeze  which 


THE  C AMARINES  TAGALOGS  235 


dotted  the  green  water  with  white-caps,  by  and 
among  the  great  fish-traps  which  yield  such 
large  quantities  of  fish,  over  the  bar  into  the 
Bicol,  and  ashore  again  for  dinner  before  pull- 
ing up  the  river  to  Magarao  and  home. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES 


Our  Household — Mosquitoes — Ants  and  White-ants 
— The  Chaplain’s  Lizards — Monkeys  and  Their 
Ways — Our  New  Mess — Short-lived  Enjoyment 
— The  Fire — The  Great  Bicol  Festival — Nuestra 
Senora  de  Pena  Francia  and  Her  Devotees — 
Homage  Paid  to  the  Bicol  Patroness. 

In  Nueva  Caceres  the  methods  of  house- 
keeping do  not  differ  materially  from  those  of 
Solano,  since  the  stoves,  the  beds  and  the  bath- 
ing— the  three  essentials  to  civilized  comfort — 
are  the  same.  Variations  in  other  respects  are 
due  to  the  greater  size  of  the  Bicol  city  and  to 
its  easier  accessibility  from  Manila.  For  more 
than  a year  a large  roomy  house  leased  from 
the  presidente  made  the  home  for  myself  and 
two  American  companions,  our  proteges*  and 
our  servants,  our  pets  and  our  pests.  In  the 
latter  classification  the  mosquitoes  easily  take 
the  lead  in  most  seasons.  Lacking  any  sort  of 
screens  at  doors  and  windows,  at  such  times 
the  dwellings  are  always  infested,  and  only  the 

♦School-boys;  see  page  279. 

236 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES 


237 


lighting  of  the  lamps  is  required  to  start  the 
swarms  into  noxious  activity.  The  most  usual 
refuge  is  the  bed,  where  one  can  lie  under  the 
mosquito-proof  canopy  and  read,  with  the 
lamp  on  a chair  at  the  side. 

Ants  instantly  find  their  way  upon  kitchen 
and  dining-tables  and  into  cupboards  unless 
the  legs  of  these  stand  in  cans  of  water  topped 
with  kerosene,  or  are  wrapped  with  bands  of 
kerosene-saturated  cloth.  F ew  materials  with- 
stand the  ravages  of  the  diminutive  white-ants. 
They  bore  their  way  through  every  obstacle — 
paper,  books,  the  hardest  of  woods,  and  even 
plaster  and  cement ; while  by  means  of  an  acid 
which  they  secrete  they  pierce  tin  cans  contain- 
ing provisions.  When  they  have  once  taken  a 
house  it  is  impossible  to  exterminate  them;  the 
family  is  eventually  obliged  to  move  out.  As 
to  scorpions,  I saw  but  few;  centipedes  are 
more  numerous,  and  it  behooves  one  to  shake 
his  shoes  well  and  peer  carefully  into  his  gar- 
ments before  dressing. 

Forming  a connecting  link,  as  it  were,  be- 
tween the  pests  and  the  pets  are  the  chirping 
lizards,  from  two  to  four  inches  long,  which 
run  about  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  Philippine 
dwellings  after  the  lamps  are  lighted  in  pur- 
suit of  gnats,  mosquitoes  and  other  insects. 


238 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Houses  of  the  better  class  are  the  most  in- 
fested, because  the  more  light  the  more  insects 
and  lizards.  These  small  saurians  are  entirely 
harmless,  and  cause  little  bother  except  an  oc- 
casional fright  to  the  timid  American  who 
sits  quietly  reading  during  the  course  of  an 
encounter  on  the  ceiling,  when  one  is  knocked 
off  by  his  opponent  and  falls  upon  shoulder  or 
plumps  into  lap.  Their  pursuit  of  insects  is 
amusing — the  stealthy  approach,  the  momen- 
tary pause,  the  disappearance  of  the  gnat  and 
the  huge  gulp  and  wink  of  the  lizard.  Some- 
times a larger  moth  is  seized,  whose  rapidly 
fluttering  wings  make  swallowing  difficult ; oc- 
casionally two  lizards  pursue  the  same  insect 
from  opposite  directions,  when  the  one  that 
fails  to  seize  the  prize  chases  his  successful  rival 
half  way  across  the  room.  As  many  as  twelve, 
fifteen  or  twenty  may  sometimes  be  counted 
on  the  ceiling  of  a single  room. 

Our  countryman,  the  chaplain,  became  so 
attached  to  these  little  creatures  that  the  night 
before  he  moved  his  family  to  a newly  reno- 
vated dwelling,  during  the  absence  of  his  wife 
he  took  a broom  and  colander,  and,  with  the 
help  of  the  muchacho , carefully  secured  the 
score  of  lizards  from  the  ceiling  of  the  sala  and 
carried  them  to  the  new  domicile,  where  he 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES  239 

gave  them  their  freedom.  There  they  contin- 
ued nightly  their  amusing  pranks,  to  the  great 
enjoyment  of  the  chaplain  if  not  of  his  wife. 

Continuously  varied  entertainment  is  af- 
forded for  us  of  the  tropics  by  those  fel- 
low-creatures which  are  only  half  brute — the 
monkeys.  When  you  come  here  to  live,  by 
all  means  procure  a monkey — one  of  a good 
disposition,  for  monkey  personality  differs 
greatly.  Place  a long,  stout  bamboo  trunk 
between  two  trees  with  a box  for  shelter  at  one 
end.  On  the  bamboo  put  a ring  of  heavy  wire, 
large  enough  to  slip  back  and  forth  easily;  to 
this  fasten  the  monkey’s  chain,  and  the  little 
animal  will  be  able  to  run  back  and  forth 
between  the  trees,  climb  into  them  or  into 
the  box,  and  hang  or  swing  from  the  pole. 
When  the  chain  becomes  tangled  it  will  go 
back  and  unfasten  it.  Feed  the  monkey  with 
bananas  and  boiled  rice,  and  do  not  forget 
water.  As  often  as  you  can,  take  it  for 
a walk  and  let  it  clamber  up  the  banana  trees 
in  search  of  spiders,  of  which  it  is  very  fond. 
It  will  keep  your  dwelling  clear  of  these  if 
you  take  it  where  they  are.  When  you  would 
entertain  both  yourself  and  the  monkey  give 
it  a small  mirror  to  peer  into  and  clutch  be- 
hind in  search  of  its  mate.  Or  into  a pint 


240 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


bottle  thrust  as  large  a stone  as  will  pass 
through  the  neck,  and  see  your  pet  spend  hours 
trying  to  solve  the  problem  of  extracting  the 
stone,  until  it  happens  to  fall  out.  If  your 
simian  be  a female,  gratify  its  maternal  in- 
stinct by  giving  it  a kitten  to  hug  and  fondle; 
if  you  attempt  presently  to  take  the  kitten 
away  the  foster-mother  will  scold  you  severely, 
at  the  same  time  attempting  with  one  hand  to 
drag  it  into  the  tree.  Upon  more  mature  ac- 
quaintance the  kitten  will  become  fond  of  the 
monkey,  and  they  will  lie  dowrn  and  play  to- 
gether. Such  wras  our  experience  with  these 
pets.  Besides  them  I owned,  for  a time,  a 
pretty  pony,  wliich  I kept  under  the  rear  por- 
tion of  the  house  and  used  in  my  journeys ; and 
also  a fine  fawn  presented  to  me  by  a friend, 
which  lived  on  cavnote  leaves  and  bounded  up 
the  stairs  and  into  the  house  like  a rubber  ball 
when  it  became  frightened.  So  that,  alto- 
gether, our  dwelling  was  well  filled. 

The  Americans  who,  for  a change,  went  to 
board  at  the  restaurant  of  Mendoza,  the  Span- 
iard, liked  it  very  wrell  at  first,  though  there 
vTas  an  excess  of  meat  food  and  not  enough 
vegetables  and  fruits.  But  the  proprietor’s 
activity  waned,  and  both  food  and  service  be- 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES 


241 


came  so  poor  that  we  three  householders  deter- 
mined to  mess  at  home.  So  we  bought  a new 
cook  stove,  laid  in  a generous  supply  of  staple 
foods  and  canned  provisions,  purchased  table 
linen  and  a new  supply  of  dishes,  hired  a cook, 
and  bid  Sr.  Mendoza  a glad  farewell.  The 
stove  was  set  up  and  Van  stood  over  the  cook 
three  times  that  first  day,  so  as  to  start  him  in 
right.  We  ate  our  meals  in  our  own  house, 
served  by  our  own  boys,  and  delicious  meals 
they  were.  That  was  a red-letter  day;  it  was 
the  most  homelike  I had  experienced  in  the 
Islands  and  we  were  jubilant. 

Shortly  after  midnight  I was  awakened  by 
loud  crackling  and  a bright  light.  Rushing 
out  to  the  kitchen  I saw  that  the  nip  a roof 
directly  over  the  stove  was  afire.  It  was  too 
high  to  reach  from  the  floor  or  from  any  ob- 
ject in  the  room;  there  were  no  ladders,  water 
was  scarce  and  there  was  no  fire  department 
in  the  town.  I roused  the  household,  sent 
one  boy  to  alarm  the  policemen  at  the  presi- 
dencia  and  another  to  waken  our  landlord,  the 
presidente,  who  lived  near  by.  The  fire 
crawled  up  the  roof  rapidly,  and  when  I had 
drawn  on  my  shoes  and  clothing  I saw  that  the 
building  was  doomed  to  destruction.  The  peo- 
ple who  first  arrived  on  the  ground  were  as 


242 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


helpless  as  we,  for  there  was  no  way  to  mount 
the  roof  and  beat  out  the  fire ; and  by  the  time 
ladders  were  brought  it  had  spread  too  far  to 
extinguish.  First  I went  under  the  house  to 
rescue  the  pony,  which  I turned  loose  and 
drove  away;  then  returned  upstairs  to  carry 
out  my  belongings.  By  this  time  the  constab- 
ulary officers  had  arrived  with  a detachment, 
also  many  of  the  neighbors.  The  officers  en- 
tered the  house  and  helped  to  remove  the  fur- 
niture; the  others  stood  about  and  looked, 
for  there  was  little  else  that  could  be  done. 
Soon  the  military  officers  came  with  a large 
squad  of  soldiers,  whom  the  colonel  directed  to 
pull  down  the  two  nipa  dwellings  opposite  the 
burning  house,  the  occupants  having  meantime 
fled  with  their  belongings. 

By  this  time  the  frame  dwelling  adjacent  to 
ours  was  burning,  and  the  president's  house, 
which  stood  next,  was  threatened.  With  the 
help  given,  we  had  saved  as  much  of  our  furni- 
ture and  as  many  of  our  personal  effects  as 
was  possible  before  the  roof  fell.  Over  these 
some  of  the  soldiers  mounted  guard,  while 
others  gave  their  attention  to  an  attempt  to 
save  the  presidents 's  dwelling  by  organizing 
a pail-brigade,  the  men  carrying  the  pails  up 
the  ladders  and  dashing  the  contents  against 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES 


243 


the  steep  thatch  roof.  The  painted  sides  of  the 
building  were  already  blistering;  the  family 
and  their  friends  rushed  wildly  about,  not 
knowing  what  to  do  first.  Some  persons  en- 
tered and  attempted  to  carry  out  the  piano. 
By  this  time  the  crowd  was  very  large;  the 
governor  and  provincial  officials  arrived;  our 
house  had  become  a smouldering  ruin  with  no 
part  of  the  structure  remaining  except  the 
burning  liarigues;  several  small  buildings  op- 
posite had  been  pulled  down  so  as  not  to  pro- 
vide additional  fuel  for  the  flames.  The  adja- 
cent dwelling  was  half  consumed,  and  the  heat 
was  great;  the  people  were  still  striving  with 
the  desperation  born  of  impotence  to  save  the 
house  of  the  presidente ; if  it  once  burst  into 
flame  it  would  be  gone,  but  in  a few  seconds 
more  the  danger  would  be  past.  How  we 
watched — how  we  hoped!  The  fire  gradually 
became  less;  yes,  the  building  was  safe. 

Then  we  breathed  sighs  of  relief  and  sat 
down  to  rest  and  talk.  How  did  the  fire  begin  ? 
That  a spark  had  smouldered  in  the  nipa  roof 
above  the  stove  from  seven  o’clock  until  past 
midnight  did  not  seem  possible,  yet,  how  else? 
Reluctantly  we  admitted  that  in  some  way  our 
attempt  at  housekeeping  had  been  the  cause. 
Deep  was  our  chagrin.  We  had  lost  much  of 


244 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


the  furniture,  many  personal  belongings,  our 
new  stove,  the  supply  of  provisions,  and  the 
housekeeping  outfit.  A valuable  heirloom  be- 
longing to  one  of  my  companions  had  been 
burned.  The  presidente  had  lost  two  good 
dwellings;  three  small  ones,  opposite,  belong- 
ing to  others,  had  been  demolished.  Our  sym- 
pathy went  out  to  those  who  had  lost  more 
than  we.  But  what  of  the  pets  ? The  cook  had 
rescued  the  fawn,  the  kitten  had  escaped,  two 
paroquets  in  a cage  had  been  consumed.  And 
the  monkey?  Poor  thing;  it  had  been  left 
chained  for  the  night  to  one  of  the  bamboo 
posts  of  the  platform  at  the  back  of  the  house, 
and  there,  after  the  fire,  still  chained  to  the 
stump,  the  boys  found  it,  terrorized  and  se- 
verely burned.  For  several  days  it  drooped 
and  refused  food,  and  then  its  wounds  began 
to  heal  over,  it  gradually  recovered  its  spirits 
and  before  long  it  was  its  former  self,  none  the 
worse  except  its  memory  of  the  horror  and  its 
scars.  For  the  remainder  of  the  night  we 
found  refuge  with  friends,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing we  went  back  to  Mendoza’s  for  our  break- 
fasts. 

At  the  time  of  our  fire  preparations  were 
making  by  the  towns-people  of  Nueva  Caceres 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CiCERES 


215 


for  the  celebration  of  the  great  annual  Bicol 
religious  festival,  in  honor  of  Our  Lady — 
Nuestra  Senora  de  Pena  Francia.  Of  minor 
festivals  there  are  many,  and  at  no  time  of  the 
year  is  there  lack  of  homage  to  the  Virgin.  A 
very  pretty  ceremony  known  as  Las  Flores  de 
Mayo  takes  place  during  the  first  days  of  May. 
Altars  in  the  homes  of  the  leading  families  are 
prepared  and  prettily  decorated.  Before  these 
in  the  late  afternoons,  after  family  prayers, 
little  girls  dressed  in  white  stand  in  line  and  re- 
peat eulogistic  verses  addressed  to  the  Mother 
of  God,  and  throw  bright-colored  flowers  at 
her  statue  at  the  end  of  each  stanza.  Resplen- 
dent altars  are  erected  also  in  the  streets  and 
differently  dressed  on  successive  evenings,  be- 
fore which  the  people  congregate  for  prayer 
and  praise.  N o home  is  so  poor  but  that  it  has 
at  all  times  something  that  represents  a shrine, 
before  which  the  family  prayers  are  repeated. 
A crucifix  or  a religious  chromo  on  a shelf,  set 
off  with  a candle  or  a sprig  of  artificial  flow- 
ers on  either  side,  may  be  sufficient  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  well-to-do  families  have  permanent 
altars,  with  a statue  of  the  Saviour  or  a saint 
surrounded  by  many  vari-colored  embellish- 
ments. But  the  fiesta  of  Pena  Francia  eclipses 
all  others  of  southern  Luzon. 


246 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


During  the  nine  days  preceding  the  great 
fiesta,  which  takes  place  in  the  second  half  of 
September,  the  pious  wend  their  ways  daily 
along  the  highway  called  Bagumbayan  Grande 
to  adore  Our  Lady  at  her  own  shrine  in  the 
Pena  Francia  church.  The  chapel  in  which 
her  image  reposes,  visited  comparatively  little 
during  the  remaining  portions  of  the  year, 
then  becomes  daily  the  objective  point  of  hun- 
dreds of  worshippers;  for  the  honoring  of 
Our  Lady  is  not  solely  a religious  duty — be- 
sides that  she  blesses  those  who  pray  before  her 
image  and  even  endows  the  latter  with  power 
to  heal.  The  history  of  the  building  of  the 
shrine  is  as  follows:  A devout  Spaniard,  a 
devotee  of  the  cult  of  Our  Lady  of  Pena 
Francia  in  Spain,  having  been  healed  of  dis- 
ease by  praying  to  a stamp  of  the  Virgin,  was 
minded  to  erect  a shrine  in  her  honor.  Receiv- 
ing in  book  form  an  account  of  the  miracles 
wrought  in  Spain,  he  kept  this  constantly  by 
him,  even  during  sleep.  By  applying  this  book 
to  the  seat  of  pain  he  immediately  cured  it. 
Grateful  for  these  continued  blessings  he 
vowed  to  erect  a shrine  in  honor  of  his  bene- 
factress that  she  might  be  worshipped  in  the 
land  of  his  adoption  and  her  healing  powers 
made  known  to  the  natives ; and  he  carried  out 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES  24<7 


his  design,  building  a chapel  near  the  right 
bank  of  the  Naga  River  a mile  above  its  con- 
fluence with  the  Bicol.  From  wood  an  image 
of  the  Virgin  was  carved;  dog’s  blood  being 
required  to  paint  it,  a dog  was  beheaded  and  its 
blood  caught.  The  animal,  with  legs  tied,  was 
then  thrown  into  the  river,  at  which  the  devout 
Spaniard  observed,  “Since  you  have  given 
your  blood  to  the  Virgin  she  may  revive  you.” 
The  bystanders  laughed,  but  were  immediately 
dumfounded  to  see  the  dog  swim  ashore,  climb 
upon  the  bank  and  run  to  its  master’s  home. 
This  first  chapel  of  straw  was  built  in  1710. 
Thirty  years  later  it  was  replaced  by  one  of 
brick;  and  in  1863  the  present  church  was 
erected. 

At  the  close  of  the  novenario,  or  nine  days’ 
prayer,  and  the  evening  before  the  -fiesta,  the 
sacred  image  is  taken  by  the  priests  from  the 
church  to  the  cathedral,  a distance  of  nearly 
a mile.  There  it  is  placed  in  a position  of 
honor  in  anticipation  of  the  festivities  of  the 
following  day.  Among  the  people  prepara- 
tions have  been  making  for  weeks.  Relatives, 
friends  and  strangers  arrive  from  every  por- 
tion of  Camarines  and  even  from  the  neigh- 
boring provinces  of  Albay  and  Sorsogon. 
They  come  by  banca,  baroto,  carromata , on 


248 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


horseback  and  afoot.  Every  family,  high  and 
low,  has  its  guests.  Many  of  the  visitors  sleep 
in  their  boats  or  camp  under  portable  shelters 
of  nipa.  The  public  buildings  and  better  resi- 
dences are  adorned  with  palms  and  foliage, 
bunting  and  lanterns,  and  the  humblest  dwell- 
ing has  its  spray  or  its  banner.  F resh  banana 
trees  are  planted  in  the  principal  streets,  mak- 
ing wide  avenues  of  graceful  foliage.  Tri- 
umphal arches  are  set  up  here  and  there,  under 
which  the  Virgin  and  her  procession  will  pass. 
Men  are  seen  going  about  the  streets  with 
long,  stout  poles  dressed  smooth  and  orna- 
mented at  the  small  end  with  bells.  These  are 
the  bogadores  or  polemen.  Others,  members 
of  the  comparsas,  wear  gay  uniforms  with 
trimmings  of  many  colors.  Some  are  rehears- 
ing for  the  last  time  their  orations,  their  songs 
and  their  dances.  Excitement  fills  the  air. 

During  the  morning  of  the  eventful  day  sol- 
emn high  mass  is  celebrated  in  the  cathedral, 
the  clergy  of  the  neighboring  parishes,  as  well 
as  some  from  a distance,  assisting.  Bands  play 
in  the  vestibule  and  the  bells  ring  frequently. 
The  finishing  touches  are  placed  upon  the 
barge  on  which  the  image  is  to  be  taken  back, 
up  the  river,  to  its  own  chapel.  It  may  rain; 
indeed,  it  is  very  likely  to  do  so ; but  no  matter 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES  249 


how  much  water  may  fall  during  the  day,  say 
the  faithful,  the  skies  are  sure  to  clear  when 
the  Virgin  leads  her  procession  from  the  cathe- 
dral. The  comparsas  parade  the  streets  in  mil- 
itary formation;  the  men  are  brave  in  gaudy 
uniforms  and  the  officers  valiant  with  swords 
of  tin,  their  artificial  mustaches  and  goggles 
supposedly  lending  them  a distinguished  air. 
Presently  they  come  to  a halt  in  the  plaza,  and 
present  themselves,  one  company  at  a time,  to 
the  presidentc  and  judges  occupying  the  band- 
stand. With  each  is  a speaker,  sometimes  a 
man  and  sometimes  a precocious  youngster, 
who  indulges  in  spread-eagle  oratory  accom- 
panied by  more  or  less  affected  gestures  in 
eulogy  of  the  occasion.  The  oration  is  fol- 
lowed by  a dance  by  selected  and  drilled  per- 
formers, by  a chorus  by  the  company,  or  by 
some  other  exercise,  which,  together  with  the 
general  appearance  and  the  manoeuvres  of  the 
comparsa,  is  made  the  basis  of  the  award  of 
prizes.  During  the  day  and  evening  these 
performances  are  repeated  in  the  streets  in  dif- 
ferent portions  of  the  town  for  the  benefit  of 
the  appreciative  citizens. 

By  five  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  the  banks  of 
the  river  are  lined  with  masses  of  humanity 
standing  and  sitting,  from  the  point  of  em- 


250 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


barkation  to  the  Pena  Francia  church.  Doz- 
ens of  huge  barotos  with  their  crews,  each  man 
with  his  pole,  are  moving  hither  and  thither  in 
the  river,  preparing  to  take  their  positions 
ahead  of  the  great  barge,  in  order  to  tow  it  and 
its  sacred  burden.  The  bells  clang  out,  from 
which  it  is  known  that  the  image  is  leaving  the 
cathedral;  the  skies  have  really  cleared.  The 
procession  is  made  up  of  a score  of  priests  and 
another  of  acolytes;  of  choirs  and  bands  of 
music.  The  sacred  banner  of  the  Divine  Face 
is  borne  in  front,  while  farther  in  the  rear  are 
the  boy  students  from  the  seminary  and  the 
young  ladies  and  girls  from  the  college,  with 
other  silken  banners.  Thus  is  the  image  of  Our 
Lady  escorted  through  the  principal  streets 
and  under  the  arches  to  the  barge  of  state  at 
the  river  bank.  Upon  this  it  is  placed;  all 
may  behold  it  and  acquire  virtue  commensu- 
rate with  their  faith.  The  clergy  occupy  seats 
behind  the  statue,  after  which  the  principal  citi- 
zens go  aboard  and  find  room  where  they  may, 
and  immediately  the  barge  is  crowded. 

The  people  shout  and  the  bogadores  stretch 
taut  the  strong  ropes  reaching  from  their  sev- 
eral barotos  to  the  barge.  Into  the  mud  at  the 
bottom  of  the  river  they  dig  their  poles,  throw 
their  weight  upon  them  and  push  with  might 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES 


251 


and  main,  thus  slowly  towing  the  barge  into 
the  stream.  Scores  of  men  jump  into  the  water 
and  wade  or  swim  to  the  side  of  the  barge  to 
aid  in  propelling  it.  “Viva!  Viva  Nuestra 
Senora  de  Pena  Francia ! Viva  el  Divino 
Rostro!”  is  shouted  by  hundreds,  thousands  of 
throats.  The  greatest  enthusiasm  is  mani- 
fested. The  people  on  the  banks  add  their 
cheers  to  those  of  the  devotees  in  the  boats  and 
the  water.  The  incense  burning  before  the 
image  and  the  sacred  banner  sends  its  smoke 
aloft.  The  barge  moves  up  the  stream,  the 
various  crews  vying  with  each  other  in  the 
labor  of  drawing  it.  At  intervals  men  spring 
out  from  the  shore  to  take  their  places  beside 
the  barge,  so  that  a fringe  of  wet  humanity 
two  or  three  deep  surrounds  the  float;  for  if 
a man  be  ill,  he  will  be  cured  by  such  act  of  de- 
votion. Some  of  my  neighbors  told  me  that, 
notwithstanding  the  hundreds  of  men  and  boys 
in  and  upon  the  water  on  these  succeeding  an- 
niversaries, no  accident  had  ever  occurred ; the 
Virgin  protects  those  who  thus  serve  her,  hence 
nothing  of  the  kind  is  possible.  This  after- 
noon a man  was  drowned;  but  the  faithful  say, 
“He  died  of  very  joy.” 

Darkness  falls;  but,  with  the  aid  of  the 
torches  there  is  light  enough  to  make  out  the 


252 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


course  of  the  narrow  stream.  In  a short  half- 
hour  the  ornate  and  prettily  lighted  floating 
pagoda  built  by  the  Chinese  merchants  comes 
into  view.  Then  the  cries  and  shouts  are  re- 
doubled; and  as  the  foremost  barotos  arrive 
opposite  the  landing,  their  occupants  jump 
into  the  water  by  twos  and  threes  and  fours, 
to  be  the  first  to  assist  in  the  labor  of  disem- 
barking the  statue.  Happy  is  he  who  can 
actually  place  his  shoulder  under  the  pedestal 
and  help  to  bear  a part  of  the  precious  burden 
up  the  slope  of  the  road  cut  through  the  river 
bank.  F ollowing  the  long  line  of  ecclesiastics 
march  the  bogadores,  by  twos,  each  with  his 
pole — an  interminable  procession.  At  the  top 
of  the  ascent  stands  a tall,  handsome  Filipino, 
the  administrador , who  performs  the  functions 
of  the  bishop  in  the  diocese;  he  is  arrayed  in 
magnificent  robes  and  surrounded  by  service 
boys.  As  the  statue  approaches  close  he  raises 
his  arms;  immediately  the  procession  pauses 
and  the  confusion  is  hushed;  all  uncover; 
silence  and  solemnity  reign.  The  administra- 
dor bows  prof oundly  to  the  image,  once,  twice, 
thrice,  making  each  time  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
The  scene  is  truly  impressive.  The  statue  is 
now  borne  into  the  church,  the  administrador 
and  the  procession  following  behind.  The 


LIFE  IN  NUEVA  CACERES 


253 


fa9ade  of  the  building  is  brilliantly  lighted  by 
scores  of  cocoanut-oil  lamps,  which  at  a dis- 
tance present  much  the  same  effect  as  incan- 
descent electric  lights,  outlining  the  belfry, 
pinnacles,  gable,  the  windows,  pilasters  and 
arched  doorways. 

The  inside  illumination  is  with  candles.  The 
image  is  replaced  in  its  own  niche  by  the  altar, 
while  the  clergy  chant  a Te  Deum  and  burn 
incense  in  its  honor;  all  classes  of  people 
throng  the  auditorium,  not  the  least  in  evi- 
dence being  the  wet  bogadores,  some  of  whom 
may  be  seen  chattering  with  cold.  The  same 
evening  the  municipal  presidente  gives  a baile 
worthy  of  the  occasion  in  the  town  hall — a 
function  seldom  surpassed  in  elaboration  of 
adornment,  elegance  of  costumes,  abundance 
of  refreshments  and  animation  of  the  dancers 
— the  social  piece  de  resistance  of  the  year.  So, 
for  almost  two  hundred  years,  have  the  people 
of  the  Bicol  region  rendered  homage  to  their 
most  excellent  patroness,  Nuestra  Sehora  de 
Pena  Francia.  In  some  respects  the  Spanish 
friars  did  their  work  well. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


VACATION  TRAVELS 

Opportunities  for  Travel  Abroad — Excursions  in 
the  Philippines — May  on  Volcano — The  Ruins  of 
Cagsau — The  Wonderful  Volcano  of  Taal — 
Crossing  Lake  Bombon — An  Unsatisfactory 
Breakfast — Apprehension — Exploration  of  the 
Crater — Cruise  Among  the  Southern  Islands — 
Rizal’s  Handiwork — Cebu  — Zamboanga  — The 
Moros — The  City  of  Jolo — A Call  upon  the 
Sultan — The  Benguet  Road — Twin  Peaks — 
Quias  Hill — The  Pines — Rejuvenation  at  Baguio 
— Igorrote  Lads. 

To  the  American  in  the  Philippines,  and  es- 
pecially to  the  American  teacher  with  his 
annual  ten  weeks’  vacation,  a vast  field  of  in- 
teresting travel  presents  itself  near  at  hand. 
In  a single  week,  at  comparatively  little  ex- 
pense, he  can  sojourn  three  days  in  the  British 
crown  colony  of  Hong  Kong,  two  in  the  Chi- 
nese metropolis  of  Canton  and  two  more  under 
the  Portuguese  flag  in  the  beautiful  city  of 
Macao,  and  make  the  triangular  journey  be- 
tween these  places.  There  are  the  trips  for 

254 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


255 


hundreds  and  hundreds  of  miles  away  into  the 
interior  of  China,  up  the  Yang-tse-kiang  and 
Si-kiang,  on  comfortable  steamers.  From 
Hong  Kong  one  can  take  ship  for  Shanghai, 
for  the  German  colony  of  Tsing-tau,  and  for 
Tien-tsin,  whence  Peking  is  easily  accessible. 
The  tour  to  Japan  is  in  itself  a liberal  educa- 
tion. After  these,  there  remain  the  north  coast 
of  Borneo,  the  Straits  Settlements,  Bangkok, 
Saigon  and  Hanoi,  and  many  other  interesting 
places  rather  off  the  beaten  track,  to  attract 
those  fond  of  unique  travel  and  mild  adven- 
ture. The  Philippines  themselves  offer  many 
interesting  excursions,  more  indeed  than  the 
average  American  is  able  to  avail  himself  of. 

First  among  the  beautiful  sights  of  the 
Islands  is  the  Mayon  Volcano.  This  most  per- 
fect of  cones  rises  to  the  height  of  eight  thou- 
sand feet  in  the  Province  of  Albay  and  glad- 
dens the  eye  of  the  beholder  from  ships  at  sea 
both  to  the  east  and  the  west.  Were  it  but  cov- 
ered with  a mantle  of  snow,  it  would  be  even 
more  chastely  beautiful  than  Fuji,  the  sacred 
mountain  of  Japan;  for  Fuji  San,  being  older, 
has  a hump  on  its  side  which  destroys  the  per- 
fection of  its  symmetry.  Mayon  constantly 
emits  a light-colored  vapor,  which  trails  to  the 


256 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


north  or  south  as  it  is  blown  by  the  prevailing 
monsoon.  Rumblings  are  heard  frequently, 
and  every  few  years  there  is  an  eruption,  the 
last  very  strong  one  having  taken  place  in 
1897,  when  three  hundred  and  fifty  people  and 
much  property  were  lost.  The  most  dreadful 
eruption  occurred  in  1814,  when  several  towns 
at  the  base  of  the  mountain  were  destroyed,  in 
whole  or  in  part;  Cagsau  was  completely  de- 
molished. Twelve  hundred  lives  were  lost,  and 
the  ashes  are  said  to  have  carried  as  far  as  the 
coast  of  China,  while  darkness  covered  the 
northern  parts  of  Luzon.  The  image  of 
Mayon  appears  on  the  Philippine  coins.  While 
the  transport  lay  at  Legaspi,  a number  of  us 
walked  out  to  the  former  site  of  Cagsau,  pass- 
ing through  the  towns  of  Albay  and  Daraga 
en  route.  The  ruins  that  are  now  to  be  seen 
are  those  of  the  church,  the  tribunal  and  the 
school-house,  evidently  the  only  stone  build- 
ings possessed  by  the  town.  These  were  de- 
stroyed first  by  fire  and  then  filled  with  lava 
and  sconce  to  the  depth  of  about  ten  feet, 
judging  from  the  present  height  of  the  key- 
stones of  the  arches  above  the  ground.  Bushes, 
creepers  and  small  trees  now  partially  conceal 
the  ruins  and  soften  their  aspect.  When  the 
people  rebuilt  they  chose  a new  site  on  the 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


257 


other  side  of  a low  hill  and  changed  the  name 
of  their  city  to  Daraga.  Six  large  municipali- 
ties still  encircle  the  base  of  the  mountain,  all 
of  which  would  be  in  imminent  danger  in  case 
of  a cataclysm. 

Lake  Bombon,  containing  an  islet  from 
which  rises  the  active  volcano  of  Taal,  is  but  a 
day’s  journey  from  either  Manila  or  Batangas. 
The  most  terrible  convulsions  have  taken  place 
here  in  times  past,  the  accounts  of  which,  writ- 
ten for  the  most  part  by  the  friars,  form  very 
interesting  reading.* 

From  Batangas  to  Tanauan  I travelled  in 
crazy  carromatas  drawn  by  ill-broken  and 
balky  ponies.  From  Tanauan  I walked  to 
Banadero,  at  the  edge  of  the  lake,  and  then 
went  by  baroto  the  short  distance  to  Ambu- 
long,  where  I made  arrangements  with  natives 
to  cross  to  the  islet  the  following  morning; 
and  here,  as  usual,  I slept  with  the  family  on 
the  floor. 

The  next  morning  before  five  o’clock  we 
arose  and  made  ready  for  the  voyage  of  six 
or  seven  miles  to  the  volcanic  island,  pushing 

* The  most  accessible  condensed  history  of  Taal  is  to  be  found 
in  the  report  of  The  Census  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  vol.  i.,  pp. 
228-236,  which  can  be  had  at  most  public  libraries. 


258 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


off  the  large  and  heavy  baroto  at  dawn  a half- 
hour  later.  Though  there  were  five  men  to 
row  and  one  to  steer,  we  did  not  progress  rap- 
idly. Besides  being  unwieldy,  the  boat  sprang 
a leak  and  the  water  came  in  fast.  One  man 
stopped  working  his  oar  and  attempted  to  push 
some  cocoanut  fibre  into  the  crack  with  a stick ; 
not  accomplishing  his  purpose,  another  oars- 
man was  obliged  to  stop  rowing  and  bail,  leav- 
ing but  three  to  pull.  I began  to  feel  some 
alarm,  especially  as  the  awkward  craft  came 
around  broadside  to  the  waves  and  could  not 
be  brought  right  again.  Having  omitted 
breakfast  because  of  the  unaccustomed  hour, 
I now  bethought  myself  that  if  our  craft  cap- 
sized or  sank  I should  be  obliged  to  support 
myself  in  the  water  on  an  empty  stomach;  so 
I went  to  eating  some  dry  biscuit  I had  brought 
along.  But  I was  so  frightened  that  the  sali- 
vary glands  refused  to  perform  their  function; 
the  crumbled  biscuit  in  my  mouth  was  like  so 
much  sand  and  I was  wholly  unable  to  swallow. 
However,  a part  of  a hard-boiled  egg  and  a 
small  banana  proved  less  refractory;  and 
taking  off  my  shoes  and  rolling  up  my  trou- 
sers I ordered  the  bailer  to  return  to  his  oar, 
while  I took  the  gallon  tin  can  and  went  to 
bailing. 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


259 


Though  I worked  rapidly  the  water  came  in 
through  the  crack  as  fast  as  I was  able  to 
throw  it  over  the  side,  for  a long  half-hour; 
then  I began  to  gain  on  it,  the  crack  having 
been  at  length  successfully  caulked.  With  all 
hands  at  the  oars  the  boat  was  now  kept 
straight;  but  shortly  I observed  another  leak 
at  a new  place.  The  proceeding  was  similar, 
and  the  trip  proved  to  be  one  of  constant  ap- 
prehension. About  nine  o’clock  we  set  foot  on 
the  island  and  I experienced  anew  the  satisfac- 
tion of  treading  the  earth.  While  the  men  ate 
their  rice  I observed  a boat  approaching  heav- 
ily laden  with  men,  who  proved  to  be  three 
Americans  from  Manila  coming  to  visit  the 
volcano  in  company  with  an  escort  of  local 
police  and  six  boatmen ; and  this  party  I was  in- 
vited to  join. 

The  grayish-white  cone  of  Taal  presents  a 
bleak  and  barren  aspect  which  becomes  inten- 
sified as  one  approaches  nearer.  As  we  left 
the  shore,  shortly  before  ten  o’clock,  the  deso- 
lation became  complete,  only  a scraggly  bush 
here  and  there  struggling  to  live,  and  half 
way  up  these  ceased  altogether.  Since  the  vol- 
cano is  but  a thousand  f eet  high  and  the  slopes 
are  gradual,  the  ascent  is  not  difficult,  and 
shortly  we  stood  on  the  top  of  the  crater  wall. 


260  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

Below  us  spread  an  immense  oval  basin,  the 
floor  of  which  was  diversified  by  considerable 
irregularities  of  surface.  The  size  of  this 
crater  basin  and  the  various  features  contained 
in  it  is  much  greater  than  appears,*  since 
there  is  nothing  of  known  dimensions  with 
which  to  compare  them.  Almost  in  the  centre 
was  a small  round  lake  of  green  water  from 
which  clouds  of  steam  constantly  arose;  to  the 
north,  and  several  times  as  large,  was  another 
lake  of  a paler  green;  to  the  southeast,  and 
therefore  more  in  the  foreground,  lay  a pond 
of  dark  russet  brown.  From  the  pale  green 
and  the  brown  lakes  no  vapor  ascended.  To 
the  south  of  the  central,  steaming  lake  there 
was  a cavity  whose  size  we  could  not  then  de- 
termine, from  the  sides  of  which  numerous  jets 
of  steam  escaped.  We  descended  into  the 
crater  by  means  of  a very  steep  zigzag  path, 
being  then  on  the  higher  bench  of  the  crater 
floor,  more  than  four  hundred  feet  below  the 
rim.  Walking  toward  the  steaming  lake,  we 
climbed  a gradual  incline  and  then  found  our- 
selves on  the  edge  of  a second  smaller  crater 
with  a perpendicular  wall;  this  we  walked 
around,  and  having  reached  the  lower,  second 

* The  lengths  of  the  long  and  short  diameters  of  the  crater 
are  given  as  7,546  feet  and  6,233  feet  respectively. 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


261 


bench  of  the  floor,  found  that  we  had  de- 
scended another  four  hundred  feet  or  more. 

We  passed  along  the  margin  of  the  pale 
green  lake,  finding  the  shore  to  be  of  soft  white 
mud,  which  stained  our  shoes  as  wet  wood- 
ashes  would  do ; the  water  was  more  than  tepid, 
but  not  hot,  having  a sulphurous  odor  and  a 
pungent  taste.  Large  jets  of  steam  escaped 
from  rocks  at  the  side  of  this  lake  nearest  the 
central  lake.  The  breeze  was  from  us  toward 
these  jets,  but  notwithstanding,  the  smell  of 
sulphur  was  so  strong  as  to  set  us  all  coughing. 
Coming  presently  to  the  hot  lake,  we  ventured 
as  near  its  edge  as  we  dared,  and  found  it  to 
be  a round,  seething  caldron,  perhaps  the  size 
of  a small  city  block.  The  constantly  rising 
clouds  of  steam  were  so  dense  that  at  no  time 
were  we  able  to  see  the  entire  surface,  which 
was  fifty  feet  below  and  covered  with  a light 
green  scum  continually  disturbed  by  boiling. 
The  sound  of  the  simmering,  seething  water 
was  plainly  audible  and  occasionally  there  was 
a louder  ebullition.  The  volcano  was  said  to 
be  quiet  that  day.  This  we  were  quite  ready 
to  believe,  for  everywhere  about  there  were 
slight  depressions  in  the  soil,  which,  being  ex- 
amined, were  found  to  mark  the  resting  places 
of  bowlders  from  the  size  of  a man’s  fist  to 


262 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


that  of  a half -bushel  measure,  very  evidently 
thrown  from  the  crater  during  eruptions  and 
buried  by  the  force  of  the  fall. 

After  a short  rest  we  made  a detour  and 
climbed  up  a steep  bank  fifty  feet  in  height, 
which  we  found  to  be  a ridge  between  the  floor 
of  the  second  or  inner  crater  already  described 
and  the  cavity  at  first  imperfectly  seen  from 
the  outer  rim.  We  now  discovered  that  this 
funnel-shaped  cavity  contained  another  lake, 
smaller  and  at  a lower  level  than  the  central 
steaming  lake,  and  boiling  more  vigorously. 
The  steam  arose  not  only  from  the  surface  of 
the  water,  but  from  numerous  small  apertures 
in  the  inner  slopes;  from  the  outer  slopes,  also, 
thirty  feet  directly  below  us,  the  steam  came 
out.  On  our  return  across  the  crater  floor  I 
discovered  two  newly  formed  miniature  cra- 
ters a short  distance  apart.  These  were  the 
exact  shape  of  inverted  hollow  cones,  about 
two  feet  in  diameter  and  two  feet  and  a half 
deep.  About  their  circumferences  the  sand  and 
soil  were  piled  four  or  five  inches  high.  These 
caused  us  to  realize  that  we  were  treading  a 
very  thin  crust  of  earth.  We  reached  the 
shore  of  the  lake  again  at  one  o’clock,  having 
been  three  hours  in  the  crater,  travelling  prac- 
tically all  of  the  time.  I dismissed  my  boat- 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


263 


men,  not  caring  to  trust  myself  again  in  their 
unseaworthy  craft,  and  returned  to  the  main- 
land with  my  new  acquaintances.  That  even- 
ing we  arrived  at  Malete,  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  where  as  guests  of  the  lieutenant  of  po- 
lice who  had  accompanied  us  we  spent  the 
night.  The  next  day  we  went  to  Calamba  to 
take  the  boat  for  Manila,  congratulating  our- 
selves that  we  had  been  able  to  visit  one  of  the 
world’s  most  wonderful  volcanoes. 

With  good  weather  and  an  agreeable  com- 
panion I know  of  no  more  interesting  and 
pleasant  vacation  journey  for  the  resident  of 
Luzon  than  that  among  the  southern  islands. 
Embarking  at  Pasacao  we  steamed  south, 
stopping  at  Sorsogon  in  Luzon,  Calbayog  and 
Catbalogan  in  Samar,  Tacloban  in  Leyte,  and 
Surigao  on  the  northernmost  point  of  Min- 
danao. Skirting  the  coast  of  this  island  to 
Butuan  Bay,  we  saw  on  the  shore  the  monu- 
ment which  commemorates  the  landing  of 
Magellan’s  party  in  1521.  Then  we  made  a 
detour  around  the  small  island  of  Camiguin, 
upon  the  coast  of  which  we  beheld  a young  vol- 
cano. Again  skirting  Mindanao,  we  touched 
at  Cagayan  de  Misamis,  Iligan,  the  town  of 
Misamis,  and  Oroquieta,  going  ashore  at  some, 


264. 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


but  not  all,  of  these  ports.  At  Dapitan,  the 
place  of  Rizal’s  banishment,  we  saw  evidences 
of  the  industry  of  that  martyr,*  namely  a 
drinking  fountain  of  brick  and  tile,  and  a re- 
lief map,  on  a large  scale,  of  the  island,  in  the 
plaza  in  front  of  the  parish  church.  He  con- 
structed also  a reservoir  a short  distance  from 
the  town,  which  we  did  not  have  time  to  visit. 
On  the  voyage  from  Dapitan  to  Dumaguete 
the  wind  blew  a gale  so  strong  that  it  bent  sev- 
eral of  the  heavy  steel  stanchions  on  the  star- 
board bow,  and  the  captain  was  lashed  to  the 
bridge;  but  the  vessel  was  staunch  and  rode 
out  the  storm  in  safety.  Stopping  to  let  off 
passengers  at  Tagbilaran,  we  next  made  Cebu, 
where  we  spent  several  days.  Here  is  to  be 
seen  the  miraculous  image  of  the  Holy  Child 
of  Cebu,  which  was  brought  from  Mexico  by 
Magellan  in  1521.  The  spot  where  this  re- 
nowned navigator  first  celebrated  mass  on  the 
island  is  marked  by  a large  cross,  enclosed  with 
a commemorative  tablet  in  a quaint  kiosk. 


* Jos4  Rizal,  the  Filipino  patriot,  was  shot  on  the  Luneta 
on  Dec.  30,  1896,  at  the  behest  of  the  friars.  The  anniversary 
of  his  martyrdom  was  early  made  a legal  holiday  by  the  Philip- 
pine Commission.  Each  recurring  year,  the  people  meet  in 
every  town,  and  with  song  and  speech  recall  the  principles  for 
which  he  died — the  same  principles  which  are  now,  as  rapidly 
as  practicable,  being  given  force  and  effect  by  the  government. 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


265 


Here  may  be  seen  also  the  picturesque  old 
Spanish  fort,  now  used  for  storing  military 
supplies.  Among  the  fisher-folk,  who  com- 
prise a large  colony  on  the  beach,  I used  my 
camera  to  purpose.  From  Cebu  we  again 
voyaged  south  to  Zamboanga,  the  metropolis 
of  Moroland,  where  the  passengers  were 
greeted  by  requests  from  chocolate-skinned 
Moro  lads,  sitting  garmentless  in  canoes,  for 
coins  to  be  tossed  into  the  water  that  they 
might  exhibit  their  proficiency  as  divers.  We 
were  conducted  through  the  native  quarter  of 
the  city  by  a Moro  youth  who  spoke  broken 
English  and  called  himself  Mohamet.  Pilar, 
the  ancient  Spanish  fort,  larger  than  the  one  at 
Cebu,  is  one  of  the  interesting  sights  of  Zam- 
boanga. Upon  its  walls,  according  to  legend, 
a statue  of  the  Virgin  was  found  one  morning 
generations  ago,  when  the  people  woke  from 
their  slumbers.  The  sequel  of  the  mystery  oc- 
curred the  following  night,  when  Our  Lady’s 
image  was  miraculously  transferred  to  a niche 
in  the  walls,  which  is  still  exhibited.  Nuestra 
Senora  de  Pilar  is  therefore  the  patroness  of 
the  Christianized  Filipinos  of  the  region. 

The  next  morning  we  found  ourselves  in  the 
old  and  very  inviting  city  of  Jolo.  The  after- 
noon of  that  hazy  day  I wandered  about  for 


266 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


awhile  in  the  grateful  shade  of  the  streets  of 
the  walled  city.  Finding  the  Moros  very  loath 
to  have  pointed  at  them  the  black,  mysterious 
pocket  camera  I carried,  I decided  on  a still 
hunt,  and  therefore,  notwithstanding  the  real 
or  supposed  danger  from  juramentados * I 
betook  myself  to  the  native  town  outside  the 
walls — in  particular  to  the  market-place  at  the 
edge  of  town  by  the  tide  flats.  Here,  standing 
by  a palm  tree,  I used  an  entire  film  unknown 
to  the  passers-by.  So  far  I had  been  unable  to 
photograph  a man  on  horseback,  steadying 
himself  Moro  fashion  by  thrusting  his  great 
toes  through  the  rope-stirrups  on  either  side. 
One  fellow  had  blankly  refused  to  be  taken, 
even  spurning  the  piece  of  silver  I off  ered  him. 
So,  when  I met  a youth  who  had  learned  a little 
English  from  our  soldiers,  I besought  him  to 
help  me  find  a willing  subject.  To  assist  him 
to  think  I asked  if  he  knew  where  there  were 
any  saddled  horses,  to  which  he  answered  that 
the  Sultan’s  horses  were  in  the  next  street. 
“The  Sultan’s  horses,”  I replied;  “and  where 
is  the  Sultan?”  “He  is  in  that  house  over 

* Fanatical  Moros,  who  having  taken  a vow  to  die  killing  the 
enemies  of  their  religion  and  thus  enter  immediately  into  the 
Mohammedan  Heaven,  arm  themselves  and  attack  as  many 
foreigners  as  they  are  able  until  they  themselves  are  killed. 
This  proceeding  is  also  called  “running  amok.” 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


267 


there,”  indicating  with  a gesture.  An  oppor- 
tunity to  see  the  Sultan’s  horses  and  perhaps 
also  their  royal  master  with  so  little  trouble 
was  not  to  be  ignored.  But  when  I arrived  at 
the  place  I found  the  beasts  to  be  very  ordi- 
nary ones,  without  the  gorgeous  trappings  I 
had  pictured.  However  there  remained  His 
Majesty  himself,  now  sojourning,  if  my  in- 
formant was  correct,  in  a dwelling  which  had 
nothing  to  distinguish  it  particularly  from  the 
others  in  the  neighborhood,  except  that  it  was 
somewhat  larger.  “Do  you  think  I could  see 
the  Sultan?”  I inquired.  “I  don’t  know,”  with 
a shake  of  the  head,  was  the  response ; “you  can 
go  in  and  ask.”  So  I went  through  the  open- 
ing in  the  bamboo  wickerwork  with  which  the 
lower  part  of  the  house  was  enclosed,  and  into 
a bare  basement  with  a floor  of  hardened  earth, 
from  which  a ladder  led  to  an  opening  in  the 
bamboo-stripped  floor  above. 

I stepped  up  two  rounds  and  knocked  with 
my  cane  on  a joist,  saying  immediately  after, 
“Buenos  dias ” At  this  a dusky  face  peered 
from  the  room  above.  “Buenos  dias,”  I re- 
peated; “may  I enter?”  “Enter,”  was  the  re- 
ply, and  I crawled  up  the  remaining  rounds 
and  stood  in  a large,  barn-like  apartment  in 
the  midst  of  six  or  eight  dark-skinned  Moros 


268 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


with  faces  from  which  all  expression  of  inter- 
est was  absent.  From  each  man’s  belt  hung 
a finely  carved  sheath,  containing  a Moro 
weapon;  some  had  barongs,  others  campilans, 
one  a straight  kris,  and  he  who  had  bid- 
den me  enter  carried  a serpentine  kris  with  a 
very  large  and  most  beautifully  carved  ivory 
handle.  Of  sultanas  I saw  none,  for  they 
had  been  left  at  the  palace  a few  miles  out 
of  town. 

In  reply  to  the  questioning  look  of  the 
leader,  I said,  “Hearing  that  His  Majesty  the 
Sultan  was  here  I have  taken  advantage  of 
the  opportunity  to  come  up  and  salute  him  and 
pay  my  respects.”  Then,  without  asking  who 
I was  or  what  business  I might  be  engaged  in, 
he  took  me  immediately  to  the  further  end  of 
the  room  and  presented  me  to  the  Sultan,  who, 
stolid  and  expressionless  as  the  remainder  of 
his  suite,  sat  on  a raised  platform  covered  with 
a straw  mat.  His  shiny  skin  was  of  the  dark- 
est brown;  his  teeth  were  stained  red  with  the 
juice  of  the  betel-nut,  and  he  wore  a bit  of 
a black  mustache.  Naked  to  the  waist,  his 
sleek  trunk  evidenced  that  he  fed  himself  well; 
his  legs,  crossed  in  Turkish  fashion,  were  en- 
veloped in  the  folds  of  a bright-colored  sarong, 
from  which  his  bare  feet  protruded — a right 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


269 


sensible  costume  for  a hot  day.  On  the  mat 
at  his  side  was  a highly  ornamented  brass  betel- 
box,  containing  smaller  brass  vessels  holding 
the  various  pastes  which  the  Moros  use  with 
their  betel. 

We  shook  hands,  and  I said  that  I deemed  it 
an  honor  and  a great  pleasure  to  meet  His 
Majesty.  To  this  the  Sultan  assented.  (As 
he  did  not  understand  Spanish  my  remarks 
were  interpreted  by  the  retainer  with  the  beau- 
tiful ivory-handled  kris.)  Then  I offered  him 
a cigar  from  my  buri  case,  which  he  accepted, 
and  immediately  biting  off  the  end  like  a mor- 
tal not  born  to  the  purple,  thrust  it  into  his 
mouth.  Lighting  a safety  match,  I held  it  at 
the  opposite  end  of  the  cigar  while  His 
Majesty  puffed,  after  which  I utilized  the  re- 
maining flame  to  light  my  own.  The  retainer 
bade  me  sit  down,  which  I did  in  a bamboo 
chair  near  the  dais.  Only  then  did  the  Sultan 
honor  me  with  an  observation,  which  wras  to 
inquire  how  I had  come  to  Jolo.  My  reply  led 
him  to  ask  if  our  vessel  had  come  to  take  him 
to  Manila,  to  which  I replied  that  I knew  noth- 
ing of  such  a plan.  He  said  that  he  had  indi- 
cated to  the  American  Governor- General  his 
desire  for  a conference  at  Manila,  and  that  he 
was  expecting  that  a vessel  would  be  sent  for 


270  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

him  before  very  long.  Well  might  he  be  im- 
patient for  that  voyage,  for  when  it  took  place 
a month  or  two  later  it  resulted,  incidentally  to 
the  abrogation  of  the  Bates  Treaty,  in  the 
settlement  of  an  annuity  of  $13,500  Philippine 
currency  upon  the  Sultan  and  his  official  house- 
hold. 

I made  as  much  conversation  respecting  our 
voyage  and  what  I had  seen  in  Manila  and 
Zamboanga  as  I thought  would  interest  my 
royal  host;  but  this  wras  a slow  process,  since 
everything  I said  had  to  be  translated  into  the 
Sulu  dialect,  and  a similar  course  was  neces- 
sary for  the  responses  when  His  Majesty 
deigned  to  make  any.  At  length,  our  cigars 
being  more  than  half  consumed  and  the  con- 
versation seeming  to  lag,  I bade  the  Sultan 
f arewell ; we  shook  hands  again,  and  I took  my 
departure.  On  the  way  to  the  ladder  I stopped 
to  bargain  with  the  interpreter-retainer  for  his 
kris,  but  he  wanted  forty  pesos  for  it,  which  I 
thought  too  much.  So,  bidding  him  and  the 
other  natives  still  squatting  on  the  floor  adios , 
I picked  my  way  down  the  ladder,  little  won- 
dering that  a man  of  so  little  personal  force 
as  the  Sultan  had  been  almost  wholly  unable 
to  govern  his  dominions  of  the  Sulu  Archi- 
pelago. 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


271 


The  Benguet  journey  is  interesting  and 
pleasant  and,  besides,  enables  one  to  enjoy  a 
change  of  climate.  The  first  stage  is  by  rail, 
through  the  most  highly  developed  agricul- 
tural section  of  the  Islands  to  Dagupan,  and 
the  second  by  the  newly  completed  govern- 
ment wagon-road  to  Baguio,  the  site  of  the 
government  sanitarium  and  the  summer  cap- 
ital of  the  archipelago.  When  we  made  the 
trip  the  road  was  open  to  vehicles  only  as  far 
as  Twin  Peaks;  from  there  on  travel  was  by 
horseback  or  on  foot.  Twin  Peaks,  a popu- 
lous construction  camp  built  in  the  narrow 
canon  of  the  Bued  River,  appeared  more  cos- 
mopolitan than  Manila  itself,  and  in  habit  and 
sentiment,  if  not  in  appearance,  was  like  a min- 
ing camp  in  the  western  part  of  the  United 
States.  Being  unable  to  secure  horses,  we 
made  the  remainder  of  the  journey  afoot, 
gaining  a good  idea  of  the  immense  obstacles 
which  it  was  necessary  for  the  government’s 
engineers  to  overcome,  and  the  necessarily 
great  cost  of  the  highway.  Among  the  three 
thousand  men  employed  on  the  road  there  were 
representatives  of  each  of  the  five  races  of 
mankind,  and  of  forty-six  different  nationali- 
ties, of  whom  the  majority  were  Filipinos,  Chi- 
nese and  Japanese.  Most  of  the  foremen  were 


m PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

Americans.  The  employment  here  of  large 
numbers  of  Filipinos  was  the  first  notable 
demonstration  of  the  fact  that,  when  under- 
stood and  properly  managed,  the  natives  of 
the  Islands  will  labor  satisfactorily — a fact 
again  proved  in  the  construction  of  the  Manila 
electric  street  railways.  For  the  pleasure  of 
the  employes,  the  government  maintained  a 
band  of  music  which  travelled  up  and  down 
the  road,  stopping  a day  at  each  of  the  half- 
dozen  construction  camps,  but  always  return- 
ing to  the  headquarters  at  Twin  Peaks  to 
spend  Sunday;  the  Filipinos  must  have  music. 

The  ascent  of  the  long  and  steep  Quias  Hill 
proved  at  mid-day  to  be  rather  fatiguing. 
While  my  companion  and  I laboriously  worked 
our  way  up  the  zigzag  path,  stopping  at 
short  intervals  to  rest,  a little  Igorrote,  wdio 
had  attached  himself  to  us,  bounded  straight 
up  the  slope  like  a fawn  and  then  stood  and 
wratched  us  with  an  amused  expression,  reflect- 
ing no  doubt  upon  the  inferiority  of  the  white 
man.  Twro-thirds  of  the  way  up  we  came 
among  the  pine  trees.  These,  at  first  few,  in- 
creased in  number  until  when  wre  arrived  upon 
the  summit,  wre  found  ourselves  in  a pine  forest, 
free  from  undergrowth  and  carpeted  with 
needles.  The  beauty  of  the  pines,  their  soft 


VACATION  TRAVELS 


273 


murmur,  the  cool,  balsamic  air,  the  pleasing 
lack  of  jungle  growth,  the  green  turf  grow- 
ing in  the  open  spots — these  repaid  us  many 
times  over  for  the  toil  of  reaching  them.  With 
a new  zest  in  life  we  followed  the  smooth,  wide 
trail,  built  by  Igorrote  labor,  the  fourteen 
miles  to  Baguio,  where,  being  in  the  employ  of 
the  government,  we  secured  accommodation 
at  the  sanitarium. 

Here  other  new  sensations  were  in  store  for 
us.  That  night  I got  into  bed  instead  of  lying 
upon  it,  and  then  slept  under  double  blankets 
drawn  snugly  about  my  chin;  in  the  morning 
I made  my  ablutions  in  cold  water,  and  when 
I walked  out  beheld  my  breath  changed  to 
vapor.  I wanted  to  run  all  over  the  place. 
Some  of  the  little  Igorrotes  I met  had  red  color 
in  their  cheeks.  The  Benguet  people  are  of  a 
different  type  from  the  Igorrotes  I saw  and 
knew  at  and  near  Solano,  but  equally  pictur- 
esque and  dirty.  There  are  differences  also  in 
their  dress,  that  of  the  women  especially  being 
more  ample.  We  visited  the  interesting  school, 
and  saw,  besides  the  classes  in  the  school-rooms, 
a very  good  attempt  at  a game  of  American 
ball,  interspersed  with  baseball  phrases  in  Eng- 
lish and  Igorrote  ejaculations.  Before  and 
after  classes  and  on  holidays  the  school-boys 


274 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


play  about  the  sanitarium,  chasing  the  tennis 
balls  for  the  boarders  and  trying  otherwise  to 
make  themselves  of  service,  and  casually  lend- 
ing to  the  scene  a local  color  it  would  not  other- 
wise possess.  Some  sat  under  the  trees  and 
fashioned  bows  and  arrows;  others  built  fires 
and  roasted  and  ate  the  chicken  heads  and  legs 
secured  from  the  sanitarium  kitchen.  We  made 
a pedestrian  excursion  to  La  Trinidad,  a town 
three  miles  north,  and  visited  the  government 
experiment  farm  on  the  way.  Every  moment 
of  our  few  days’  visit  was  restful  and  invigor- 
ating, and  we  felt  better  able  to  continue  work 
in  the  rather  enervating  lowlands.  No  one 
who  has  visited  Baguio  can  do  otherwise  than 
praise  the  government  for  making  the  place 
easily  accessible. 

Having  now  given  the  prospective  or  imag- 
inary traveller  a description  of  a few  pleasant 
vacation  wanderings  I shall  leave  him  to  make 
further  explorations  alone,  while  I return  to 
my  own  occupation  in  the  schools. 


Six  Bicol  Boys  who  Lived  with  the  Author. 


Benguet  Sanitarium  and  Three  Igorrote  Schoolboys. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE  CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT 

Comparison  of  Filipino  with  American  Indian  Chil- 
dren— No  Question  of  Discipline — The  Grand- 
mother Story — The  Children’s  Sympathies — 
American  Teachers’  Households — Addresses  of 
Pupils — Tagalog  Superiority — Hungry  Pupils 
— Games — Baseball — The  System  of  Child  Peon- 
age. 


It  is  sometimes  asked  how  the  young  Fili- 
pino compares  with  the  child  of  the  American 
Indian  in  mental  attributes.  It  may  be  said 
that  at  the  beginning  of  his  schooling  the  aver- 
age full-blooded  Indian  is  not  anxious  to  learn, 
and  does  not  appear  to  interest  himself  in  his 
studies;  though  if  he  first  attends  the  kinder- 
garten these  characteristics  are  less  marked. 
While  he  is  a close  observer  and  absorbs  much 
knowledge  in  certain  lines  he  is  dull  at  his 
books.  If  he  has  learned  his  lesson,  as  some- 
times happens,  he  will  not  permit  the  fact  to 
become  too  easily  known.  Whatever  comes 
from  him  in  the  course  of  a recitation  is  drawn 

275 


276 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


out  by  laborious  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher.  As  he  grows  and  develops,  these 
peculiarities  are  less  noted;  but  he  seldom 
becomes  mentally  active  in  the  class-room  or 
imbued  with  the  desire  to  know. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  little  Filipino  is  eager 
to  learn,  from  his  books  and  in  all  other  ways. 
While  somewhat  indolent  constitutionally,  he 
nevertheless  applies  himself  in  school,  and, 
when  he  has  learned  how  to  study  alone,  usu- 
ally addresses  himself  to  study  diligently.  If 
he  knows  his  lesson  he  is  so  eager  to  recite  that 
he  uses  every  means  he  may  to  attract  his 
teacher’s  glance.  He  is  mentally  alert  and 
often  consumed  with  the  desire  for  knowl- 
edge;* moreover,  he  is  now  proving  himself 
capable  of  sustained  effort.  There  is  as  yet 
no  evidence  in  support  of  the  opinion  that  he 
early  reaches  a limit  in  the  development  of  his 


* “Many  cases  of  physical  injury,  at  least  of  a temporary 
character,  have  resulted  from  over-zealous  efforts  on  the  part  of 
students  in  preparing  their  class-work.  The  average  high- 
school  student,  if  required  by  his  teacher  to  prepare  more  than 
a due  amount  of  work,  will  deprive  himself  of  a proper  amount 
of  sleep  in  order  to  accomplish  it.  This  has  been  especially 
noticeable  in  the  case  of  students  in  attendance  upon  vacation 
normal  institutes.  Young  men  and  young  women  on  these  oc- 
casions have  been  found  to  be  continuing  their  studies  until  one 
or  two  o’clock  in  the  morning,  resuming  them  at  six.” — Report 
of  the  Philippine  Commission,  1904.  Part  iii.,  page  870. 


CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT  277 


mental  powers.  As  has  been  pointed  out  by 
Secretary  Taft,  the  problem  of  the  United 
States  in  the  Philippines  is  rendered  infinitely 
easier  of  solution  by  the  fact  that  the  Chris- 
tianized Filipinos,  like  the  Japanese,  are  not 
only  willing  but  eager  to  learn  from  the  west- 
ern nations.  In  this  respect  they  differ  from 
the  Chinese,  the  Hindus,  and  their  brother 
Malays  of  other  religions. 

Serious  misbehavior  on  the  part  of  the  school 
children  that  I knew  was  so  rare  that  the  ques- 
tion of  discipline  was  one  that  required  very 
little  attention.  Like  children  everywhere, 
their  natural  activities  sometimes  brought 
upon  them  childish  trouble ; but  they  were  uni- 
versally respectful  and  obedient.  The  Amer- 
ican who  has  any  sympathetic  feeling  what- 
ever for  children  soon  feels  strangely  drawn 
toward  them ; their  docility,  gentleness,  and  the 
sense  of  their  dependence  appeal  to  him,  and 
before  he  realizes  it  he  forgets  altogether  the 
difference  in  race  and  recognizes  only  the  kin- 
ship of  humanity  when  he  looks  into  their 
trusting  faces;  and  “little  brown  brothers” 
they  are  to  him  more  truly  than  he  thought 
they  ever  could  become.  They,  too,  feel  the 
relationship,  in  evidence  of  which  Josef  a pre- 
sents her  teacher  with  a lukban,  Santos  brings 


278 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


some  blossoms  of  the  ilang-ilang,  and  Miguel 
draws  from  his  pocket  and  offers  an  egg  of 
doubtful  quality.  In  the  homes,  while  the  chil- 
dren are  never  unduly  repressed,  they  do  not 
appear  so  much  in  the  foreground  as  our 
American  children,  and  the  forwardness,  pert- 
ness  and  lack  of  respect,  which,  ala^,  are  fre- 
quently in  evidence  with  so  many  young 
Americans,  are  never  seen.  In  our  tutoring  of 
the  Filipinos,  let  us  hope  that  we  shall  not  too 
completely  “Americanize”  their  children. 

The  American  teachers  found  that  the 
youngsters  possessed  one  trait,  however,  which 
demanded  immediate  correction,  and  that  was 
the  habit  of  falsehood.  It  is  said  that  in  the 
former  schools  there  was  but  one  reason  that 
would  be  accepted  to  excuse  absence,  which 
was  a death  in  the  family.  Hence  when  a pu- 
pil returned  to  school  after  being  away,  the 
statement  invariably  made  was  that  some  mem- 
ber of  the  family  had  died,  usually  the  grand- 
mother; and,  since  this  reason  justified  the 
absence,  it  was  accepted  without  question.  So 
that  before  the  school  habit  was  well  formed 
under  the  new  regime,  the  American  teachers 
were  astounded  at  the  fearful  mortality  of 
grandmothers  in  their  respective  districts. 
When  the  trick  was  discovered,  after  a shorter 


CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT  279 


or  longer  time,  this  excessive  mortality  ceased 
and  the  pupils  began  to  learn  to  speak  the 
truth. 

There  are  few  C amarines  children  who  have 
attended  the  public  schools,  and  thus  for  a year 
or  two  been  thrown  within  the  personal  influ- 
ence of  the  American  teachers,  who  are  not 
thoroughly  pro-American  in  their  sympathies 
and  sentiments.  In  coming  years  these  chil- 
dren, grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood,  will 
exert  a powerful  influence  for  the  enlighten- 
ment and  upbuilding  of  their  people  along  the 
lines  of  American  civilization.  Whatever  the 
cause  Filipino  children  are  fond  of  Americans. 
From  the  time  when  our  soldiers  first  began 
to  coax  the  little  Brownies  with  sweetmeats  to 
the  present  day,  when  the  teachers  coach  the 
larger  boys  in  baseball  and  arrange  match 
games  between  nines  of  adjoining  towns,  has 
their  friendliness  steadily  increased.  This  may 
be  explained  by  the  fact  that  as  a people  Amer- 
icans are  wont  to  grant  children  more  consid- 
eration, and,  in  a sense,  put  them  more  on  a 
footing  of  equality  than  do  either  the  Filipinos 
themselves  or  the  Spaniards.  Frequently  and 
in  all  parts  of  the  province  I was  importuned 
to  receive  school-boys  into  my  house  as  ser- 
vants without  pay,  for  the  benefit  of  the  teach- 


£80 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


ing  they  might  incidentally  receive  in  English 
speech  and  American  ways.  I did  not  require 
a great  number  of  servants;  hence,  though  I 
received  seven  boys  in  this  way,  all  of  whom 
went  daily  to  school,  I was  obliged  constantly 
to  decline  similar  requests.  Other  teachers  had 
families  of  from  two  to  seven  or  eight  young 
Filipinos  on  the  same  footing;  for  it  is  no  small 
satisfaction  to  be  the  means  of  aiding  poor, 
ambitious  and  appreciative  boys  a step  up- 
ward; and  a diet  of  rice,  fish  and  gulay  is  not 
expensive.  Many  were  the  boys  who  at  one 
time  or  another  asked  to  go  to  America  with 
me;  in  the  homes,  on  the  streets,  everywhere 
and  at  all  times  came  these  requests.  If  the 
young  Filipinos  could  have  their  way  there 
would  be  an  exodus  to  the  United  States  that 
would  tax  the  capacity  of  the  entire  fleet  of 
trans-Pacific  liners;  and  Las  Filipinos  would 
be  left  sighing  for  the  flower  of  her  youth.* 

As  showing  the  appreciation  of  the  school 
children  I shall  copy  an  address  delivered  in 
my  honor  upon  the  occasion  of  a visit  to  the 
Tigaon  school.  The  address  was  prepared  by 


*The  Philippine  government  now  maintains  in  the  schools  and 
colleges  of  the  United  States  almost  two  hundred  young  Fili- 
pinos, an  act  of  generosity  highly  appreciated  by  the  people  of 
the  Islands. 


CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT  281 


Lorenzo  Perez,  aged  ten,  with  the  help  of  his 
native  teacher,  and  delivered  from  memory  ; 

In  the  name  of  my  school-fellows  I come  to  ex- 
press the  gratitude  that  we  feel  for  you,  Mr.  Super- 
visor. Yes,  we  are  very  much  indebted  to  you  for  the 
labor  which  you  have  undergone  for  all  the  teachers, 
and  these  are  they  whose  duty  it  is  to  open  our  eyes. 
Our  eyes  used  to  be  shut,  but  now  they  are  open,  and 
we  can  see  with  them.  Oh,  I am  sure  that  our  dear 
Supervisor  never  sleeps  and  never  rests.  Every  day 
he  travels  from  town  to  town  to  see  all  the  teachers 
and  how  they  teach  the  children.  He  is  the  manager 
wdio  sends  us  all  the  things  we  need. 

Oh,  when  I think  about  his  labor,  my  heart  feels 
grief  because  he  has  left  his  country  and  his  dear 
parent  and  relatives  to  educate  us  and  to  open  our 
eyes  to  the  light. 

Tell  me,  my  dear  school-fellows,  what  is  the  thing 
that  we  can  give  him  to-day?  Oh,  let  us  show  him 
our  studies  which  we  have  learned  during  this  year, 
because  they  are  the  fruits  of  his  labor  and  they  are 
the  things  that  can  please  him. 

Our  dear  Supervisor,  if  you  have  heard  me  make 
some  mistakes  in  my  speech  and  in  my  pronunciation, 
please  excuse  me.  You  know  very  well  that  English 
is  not  my  native  language. 

At  the  Paracale  school  another  address  was 
presented  to  me  and  the  American  teacher 
jointly  in  Tagalog,  by  four  little  girls,  who 
stood  up  in  a row  before  their  mates.  Each 


282 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


sang  a stanza  accompanied  by  funny  little 
wavings  of  the  arms  and  hands  and  odd  courte- 
sies. The  song  ran  as  follows: 

Pag  Puri  sa  Maestrong. 

{Andrea.) 

Oh  bunieng  Mr.  F , maestrong  marilag 

sandali  pong  dinguin  an  samo  cot  onlac 
ang  calagayan  namin  cahiman  ay  capos 
mag  puri  saiyo  bagamat  di  dapat. 

(Luisa.) 

Sa  bagay  naito  na  pag  cacapisan 
tayong  manga  batang  nasa  escuelahan 

pag  puri  sa  Mr.  F atin  ng  punuan 

numiyao  ng  viva  nanucul  at  bagay. 

Viva ! 

( Serafina .) 

At  gayondin  naman  teacher  Mr.  W 

mulang  dumating  ca  bayan  Paracale 
siang  pag  ca  bucas  ibat  ibang  lenguage 
ingles  at  tagalog  tinuturuan  cami. 

( Celestina .) 

Na  pa  sasalamat  camipu  sainio 
sa  kinamtan  saya  ng  dumating  cayo 
at  pinag  tiisan  earning  taga  rito 
ngayon  poy  tangapin  ang  puri  sainio. 

This  was  quaintly  translated  into  English 
by  a native  teacher : 


CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT  283 


A Praising  for  Our  Teachers. 

Oh,  Mr.  F , maestro  benign, 

Please  hear  our  joy  and  strife; 

Although  our  lot  is  less  in  kind 

We  join  to  praise  your  happy  life. 

For  this  good  cause  let  the  children  here, 

Who  are  in  the  school-room  trim, 

Arise  to  praise  our  Mr.  F , 

To  cry  “Hurrah,  much  merit  to  him !” 

And  again  “Hurrah  for  him!” 

Also  our  teacher  Mr.  W , 

Since  you  to  Paracale  came, 

By  several  tongues  we’re  not  the  same — 

You  make  us  Tagalog  and  English  study. 

We  extend  to  you  our  many  thanks 
For  having  received  a happiness; 

And  as  you  now  are  in  our  ranks, 

Please  accept  our  praising  kindness. 

One  of  the  many  reasons  for  teaching  Eng- 
lish in  the  Philippine  schools  is  the  lack  of 
a common  language,  and  the  consequent 
greater  or  less  degree  of  jealousy  which  exists 
among  the  different  peoples  which  a common 
language  would  overcome.  This  condition  is 
manifested  by  the  recriminations  and  scrim- 
mages which  sometimes  take  place  between 


284 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


tribal  parties  of  boys  in  the  larger  schools  in 
Manila.  The  superiority  which  the  Tagalog 
feels  over  other  tribes,  for  example,  is  evi- 
denced by  an  anecdote.  Jose,  a Tagalog  boy, 
came  to  Camarines  Sur  with  his  American 
teacher,  transferred  thither  from  a Tagalog 
province.  As  a matter  of  course  he  was 
able  to  converse  with  his  Bicol  schoolmates 
only  in  English.  During  a few  moments  of 
leisure  one  day,  his  teacher  jokingly  said: 
“Jose,  which  do  you  think  are  the  better  peo- 
ple, the  Tagalogs  or  the  Bicols?”  Jose  an- 
swered never  a word  until  several  moments  had 
passed;  then,  Yankee-like,  he  responded  by 

asking  another  question:  “Mr.  C , which 

do  you  think  are  the  better  people,  the  Amer- 
icans or  the  Bicols?” 

The  pursuit  of  knowledge  by  the  Filipino 
youngsters  in  many  sections  is  attended  with 
difficulties  unknown  to  American  children. 
The  pupils  of  the  barrio  schools  are  often  very 
poor.  As  I once  made  the  rounds  of  the  Iriga 
barrio  schools  I inquired  as  to  the  number  of 
pupils  who  had  come  that  morning  without 
breakfast.  The  number  varied  in  the  different 
schools  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  per  cent. 
Imagine  such  pupils,  poorly  nourished  at  all 
times,  rising  before  six  in  the  morning,  walk- 


CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT  285 


in g to  school,  preparing  and  reciting  their  les- 
sons, playing  their  games — for  even  hungry 
children  must  play — and  walking  home  again 
on  empty  stomachs;  and  then  breaking  their 
fast  with  a scant  meal  at  eleven  o’clock.  Of 
the  remainder  who  said  that  they  had  break- 
fasted, some  had  had  camotes;  some  plantains ; 
others,  rice;  and  a few  several  of  these  dishes. 
Those  who  had  had  bread  or  rice  with  choco- 
late, or  other  nourishing  drink,  were  usually 
not  more  than  two  or  three  in  a school  of  sixty 
or  seventy. 

Little  wonder  that  these  children,  large- 
stomached,  narrow-chested  and  fragile,  grow 
into  men  and  women  small  of  stature  and  weak 
of  muscle,  and  unable  to  resist  the  ravages  of 
disease.  What  a satisfaction  it  is  for  an  Amer- 
ican who  has  taken  one  of  these  little  people 
into  his  home  to  see  him  enjoy  a sufficiency  of 
food,  and  shortly  to  thrive  and  wax  lusty  and 
perhaps  a bit  mischievous  at  the  same  time. 

The  school-children  are  singularly  quiet  dur- 
ing play  time — before  school  and  during  the 
intermission.  As  a rule,  they  enter  the  room 
and  go  to  their  seats  immediately  upon  arrival, 
where  they  write,  draw,  look  over  their  books 
or  talk  quietly;  and  at  recess  they  prefer  to 
remain  indoors,  notwithstanding  the  impor- 


286 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


tuning  of  their  teachers.  The  reasons  must 
lie  in  the  facts  that  the  heat  discourages  activ- 
ity and  that  the  play  habit  at  school  is  not  yet 
well  established;  in  addition,  they  seem  to 
know  but  few  games.  The  amusement  most 
generally  indulged  in  away  from  school  is 
pitching  pennies,  much  like  “plumping”  at 
marbles ; each  player  contributes  a bilog , worth 
a quarter-  or  a half-cent,  which  are  piled  in 
the  centre  of  a small  ring;  the  player  stands 
a few  feet  away  and  pitching  another  coin  en- 
deavors to  scatter  the  pile  and  knock  the  bilogs 
out  of  the  ring.  The  play  is  “for  keeps” — an 
indication  of  the  inherent  love  of  gain  by  play 
which  exists  in  oriental — shall  I not  say  in  all 
human? — nature.  When  bilogs  are  not  avail- 
able, other  objects  are  used,  such  as  flat  pieces 
of  metal,  small  stones  or  hard  seeds  resembling 
buckeyes.  The  substitution  of  marbles  as  the 
implements  of  the  game  would  be  advanta- 
geous. 

Of  late  years  baseball  is  played,  and  one  of 
the  most  encouraging  signs  of  progress  in  the 
Islands  is  the  readiness  with  which  the  young 
boys  take  to  this  game.  On  cool  days  and  late 
in  the  afternoons  they  play  with  as  much  spirit 
and  vociferous  enjoyment  as  Young  America 
at  home.  Match  games  between  different 


CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT  287 


schools  and  towns  take  place  with  increasing 
frequency.  Indeed,  baseball  is  not  only  ingra- 
tiating itself  with  the  Filipino  youth,  but  in 
the  principal  ports  of  Japan  and  China,  with 
the  young  Japanese  and  Chinese  as  well.  Who 
knows  but  that  this  fine,  manly  game  may  not 
yet  be  the  means  of  westernizing  the  Orient  ? 

The  happiest  hours  of  the  Filipino  child  are 
those  when  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  no  longer  felt 
— the  beautiful  nights  when  the  moon  shines 
with  tropical  effulgence.  Then  the  streets  of 
the  villages  and  towns  are  alive  with  merry, 
romping  little  ones,  playing  the  Philippine 
prisoners’  base  and  other  active  games  with 
the  ardor  and  hilarity  of  northern  children;  at 
such  times  one  realizes  what  the  normal  activi- 
ties of  Filipino  childhood  might  be  habitually 
were  it  not  for  the  enervating  climate. 

For  the  system  of  child  peonage  which  exists 
in  the  Philippines  it  is  doubtful  if  there  be  any 
cure  but  prosperity  coupled  with  enlighten- 
ment. Arising  primarily  from  the  great  pov- 
erty of  the  people,  the  evil  will  continue  until 
this  is  ameliorated.  Thus,  a poor  man  with  a 
large  family  finds  himself  unable  to  provide 
food  for  his  children;  in  one  case,  his  poverty 
may  be  due  to  laziness ; in  another,  to  improvi- 
dence ; in  a third,  to  conditions  beyond  his  con- 


288 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


trol ; in  any  such  instance  the  result  is  the  same 
— there  are  not  rice  and  fish  enough  to  go 
round,  and  children  cannot  thrive  on  bananas 
and  gulay  alone.  Hence,  he  arranges  with  a 
well-to-do  man  in  the  town  to  take  Anita  into 
service  in  his  household,  perhaps  receiving  a 
lump  sum  of  ten  or  fifteen  pesos  in  considera- 
tion of  binding  over  the  child. 

Thereafter,  Anita  is  a household  drudge; 
she  gets  up  early  in  the  morning,  works  all  day 
with  only  such  time  for  play  as  she  is  able  to 
snatch  in  the  intervals  between  change  of  work 
or  while  going  on  errands,  and  busies  herself 
until  the  late  supper  work  is  finished  and  she  is 
so  tired  that  she  falls  quickly  asleep  on  her 
mat  spread  on  the  kitchen  floor.  F or  this  ser- 
vice, given  uncomplainingly  from  month  to 
month  and  year  to  year,  she  receives  her  daily 
rice,  sometimes  increased  by  leavings  from  the 
family  table,  and  the  little  clothing  she  re- 
quires. She  is  usually  unkempt  and  dirty. 
Little  falls  to  her  lot  in  the  way  of  pleasure, 
and  her  mistress  does  not  send  her  to  school, 
since,  otherwise,  the  work  would  not  be  done. 
She  grows  up  unenlightened,  ignorant  of 
everything  but  the  grind  of  housework;  and 
by  the  time  she  reaches  maturity  she  cares  for 
nothing  better.  In  another  case,  little  Pablo 


CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT  289 


is  taken  by  his  widowed  mother  to  Li-aco,  the 
Chino  who  has  said  that  he  wants  a hoy;  and 
Li-aco,  after  looking  the  little  fellow  over, 
offers  twenty  pesos  in  consideration  of  his  in- 
denture; but  there  is  no  written  contract  or 
agreement.  Thereafter,  Pablito  fetches  the 
water  from  the  river  in  two  five-gallon  oil- 
cans, one  at  each  end  of  a pole  resting  midway 
of  its  length  on  his  little  shoulder.  Under  this 
burden  of  eighty  pounds  the  hoy  staggers 
twenty  or  thirty  steps  at  a time,  until  he  can 
go  no  further,  and  sets  the  cans  on  the  ground 
to  rest  and  recover  his  breath.  When  he  has 
finished  his  routine  work  about  the  kitchen  he 
goes  into  Li-aco’s  shop  and  sits  down  to  learn 
to  make  slippers  along  with  the  two  other  boys 
whom  Li-aco  has  acquired  in  similar  manner. 
Here  he  toils  away  his  childhood  and  becomes 
prematurely  old. 

In  a third  instance,  a poor  tao  has  borrowed 
ten  pesos  from  the  wealthy  man  of  the  town, 
perhaps  to  give  a christening  party  for  his 
youngest  child,  possibly  to  buy  seed  rice  with 
which  to  plant  his  holding,  agreeing  to  repay 
the  sum  in  six  months.  The  debt  becomes  due 
and  he  is  unable  to  pay.  The  creditor,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom,  demands  the  tao’s  ten-year- 
old  son  in  service,  and  Cocoy  goes  to  work  out 


290 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


his  father’s  indebtedness  at  the  rate  of  one 
peso  a month.  If  he  accidentally  breaks  a 
dish,  its  value,  at  a very  generous  estimate,  is 
added  to  the  amount  of  the  original  debt.  All 
breakage  of  whatever  kind  for  which  the  child 
may  be  made  responsible  is  charged;  the  in- 
debtedness is  not  likely  to  be  liquidated  until 
the  years  of  Cocoy’s  childhood  and  youth  have 
been  made  unfruitful  of  those  things  which 
in  an  enlightened  country  are  a child’s  heri- 
tage. 

Some  of  these  masters  and  mistresses  are 
well  meaning,  some  are  considerate,  some  are 
kind,  others  are  habitually  the  reverse  of  these 
and  strive  only  to  get  the  most  that  is  possible 
out  of  the  child.  I have  known  Filipino  fami- 
lies who  send  their  child  servants  to  school ; but 
the  number  of  these  is  small.  The  unfortunate 
thing  is  that  there  is  no  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  to  childhood,  as  such,  belongs  the  right 
to  healthful  physical  growth  and  development 
unhampered  by  too  laborious  tasks,  and  to  such 
teaching  as  will  enable  the  child  to  become  an 
intelligent  and  useful  member  of  society,  fitted 
to  be  his  own  master  rather  than  another’s 
slave. 

In  such  absence  of  enlightened  sentiment,  in 
the  presence  of  such  social  turpitude,  what 


CHILDREN,  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT  291 


genuine  well-wisher  of  the  Filipinos  will  desire 
to  allow  them,  at  the  present  day,  their  inde- 
pendence— to  place  the  responsibility  for  the 
welfare  of  the  ignorant  many  in  the  hands  of 
the  educated  few? 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  NATIVE  TEACHERS 

Their  Faithfulness — A Case  in  Point — Normal  In- 
stitutes— Devotion  and  Loyalty — Mrs.  Meade’s 
Story. 

One  of  the  most  pleasing  features  of  the 
school-work  in  the  Camarines  is  the  faithful- 
ness of  the  native  teachers.  Receiving  monthly 
salaries  of  from  ten  to  fifty  pesos,  these  young 
men  and  women  are  earnest  and  hard-work- 
ing in  a superlative  degree.  Faithfully  adopt- 
ing the  suggestions  and  following  the  direc- 
tions of  their  supervising  teachers,  carefully 
keeping  the  records  of  attendance  and  of 
public  property,  continuing  their  own  stud- 
ies, and  living  exemplary  lives  meanwhile,  their 
work  is  a powerful  agent  in  the  uplifting 
of  the  masses  of  their  people.  The  case  of  the 
teacher  at  Ragay  is  in  point  as  showing  the  re- 
markable adaptability  of  the  young  Filipino. 
Although  he  had  studied  in  the  seminario  con- 
ducted by  the  friars  at  Nueva  Caceres  and 

292 


THE  NATIVE  TEACHERS 


293 


understood  the  Spanish  language,  he  had  had 
only  three  months  of  English  instruction  be- 
fore the  urgent  demand  for  a school  in  his 
town  and  the  lack  of  trained  teachers  con- 
strained the  division  superintendent  to  give 
him  a temporary  appointment  at  twenty  pesos 
monthly.  With  the  assistance  of  the  presi- 
dente  he  built  up  the  school  until  there  was  a 
daily  attendance  of  over  two  hundred  children, 
whom  he  taught  unaided  and  with  insufficient 
equipment.  He  was  both  active  and  diligent, 
keeping  his  records  accurately  and  sending  in 
his  reports  promptly.  The  town’s  finances 
were  so  low  that  great  difficulty  was  found  in 
paying  his  salary.  He  remained  steadfast, 
however,  closed  his  school  two  months  before 
Christmas,  as  directed,  and  came  to  Nueva  Ca- 
ceres  to  study  in  the  Provincial  School,  where 
his  progress  was  amazing.  In  the  meantime 
the  insular  government  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  impoverished  town,  so  that  after  the 
holidays  the  young  man  reopened  his  school  as 
an  insular  teacher  at  twice  his  former  salary. 
Provided  with  an  assistant  and  a more  com- 
plete equipment,  he  is  doing  still  better  work 
and  his  school  is  thriving. 

All  over  the  Islands  the  native  teachers  have 
rapidly  risen  to  meet  the  growing  responsibili- 


294* 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


ties  placed  upon  them ; some  are  already  occu- 
pying positions  as  supervising  teachers,  thus 
enabling  the  government,  little  by  little,  to  re- 
duce the  number  of  American  teachers,  or  per- 
mitting the  latter  to  be  assigned  to  the  more 
advanced  work  in  the  intermediate  and  high 
schools.  At  convenient  central  points  in  every 
province  teachers’  institutes  for  normal  study 
and  practice  are  organized  yearly,  the  Ameri- 
cans comprising  the  faculty  and  the  Filipinos 
the  student  body.  The  instructors  have  found 
this  work  extremely  interesting  and  agreeable, 
and  the  students  equally  profitable  and  pleas- 
ant. As  one  of  the  consequences  the  body  of 
native  teachers  is  rapidly  becoming  imbued 
writh  a professional  spirit.  As  individuals 
many  of  them  possess  the  most  admirable  per- 
sonal characters;  my  association  with  these  is 
a happy  memory. 

Complete  confidence  once  established  be- 
tween the  American  and  the  native  teacher,  the 
devotion  and  loyalty  of  the  latter  is  of  a child- 
like faith  which  is  blind  to  all  other  interests, 
even  to  personal  feeling.  This  characteristic 
is  illustrated  by  a story  told  me  by  Mrs.  Meade, 
while  we  travelled  as  fellow-passengers  on  one 
of  the  coast-guard  boats  plying  among  the 
southern  islands. 


Vacation  Normal  School,  Nueva  Caceres. 


THE  NATIVE  TEACHERS 


295 


Mrs.  Meade’s  Story 

“Josef a was  my  assistant  at  Clarita.  She 
was  a charming  young  woman,  slightly  larger 
than  the  average,  with  luxuriant  black  tresses 
and  large  dark  eyes,  tender  and  sympathetic. 
She  had  married  Hilario,  a young  almacenero 
in  charge  of  the  hemp  warehouse  of  an  English 
firm,  about  two  years  before,  and  they  had  a 
fine  large  baby  boy  more  than  a year  old.  She 
was  attentive  to  her  school  duties;  always 
punctual  and  faithful,  a plodding  student,  and 
good  to  the  children,  having  an  especial  care 
for  the  little  ones;  one  of  the  kind,  in  short, 
that  we  describe  by  the  phrase  ‘thoroughly 
good.’  She  received  ten  pesos  monthly  at  first, 
but  I helped  to  secure  an  increase  for  her  to 
fifteen. 

“I  enjoyed  her  very  much,  both  in  the 
school-work  and  when  we  visited  together,  for 
they  three  used  to  come  to  our  home  occasion- 
ally on  a Sunday  evening,  and  I dropped  in  at 
theirs  in  neighborly  way  every  week  or  two. 
Sometimes  when  I passed  their  neat  cottage  of 
bamboo  and  nip  a on  my  way  to  the  govern- 
ment building,  she  would  hold  the  little  Hilario 
up  to  the  window  for  me  to  admire,  and  say, 


296 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


‘Don't  you  think  my  baby  looks  nice  this 
morning?’  and  the  child  always  did  look  nice, 
for  he  was  kept  clean  and  tidy  by  his  mother 
and  the  little  nurse-girl  who  cared  for  him 
while  Josefa  was  at  school.  He  was  a whole- 
some baby,  and  well-nourished,  for  the  hus- 
band earned  thirty  pesos  a month  at  the  alma- 
cen,  and  their  combined  wages  were  more  than 
enough  to  enable  them  to  live  comfortably; 
and  they  took  heed  that  the  child  had  more 
than  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  Filipino  infants. 
Chubby  Hilar io  gazed  and  gooed  at  me  upon 
these  occasions,  and  stretched  out  his  small 
fists;  he  seemed  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  I 
understood  him,  baby  language  being  the  same 
everywhere.  So  I could  always  truthfully  say, 
‘Yes,  Josefa,  you  certainly  have  a fine  baby. 
And  how  he  has  grown  since  you  visited  us  two 
weeks  ago.  And  you  do  take  such  good 
care  of  him.’  At  this  Josefa  would  reply,  ‘Yes, 
he  is  a big  baby.  Why,  he  will  soon  be  fifteen 
months  old.’  And  thereupon  embrace  him 
fondly. 

“As  I said,  Josefa  was  a good  student  and 
worked  diligently  at  the  lessons  assigned  in 
the  teachers’  daily  class.  She  had  a good  mind ; 
while  not  very  quick,  she  learned  thoroughly 
and  remembered  well.  I was  ambitious  for  her 


THE  NATIVE  TEACHERS 


297 


to  take  the  examination  required  for  appoint- 
ment to  the  position  of  insular  teacher,  for  she 
would  then  receive  at  least  forty  pesos  a 
month;  and  she  thoroughly  deserved  it.  I 
urged  this  upon  her  for  some  time  before  she 
consented,  for  Filipinos  are  chagrined  at  fail- 
ure and  do  not  like  to  compete  unless  they  have 
a good  prospect  of  success.  At  length  she 
consented;  and  from  that  time  applied  herself 
with  even  greater  earnestness  than  before. 
F earing  that  she  might  grow  weary  of  difficult 
study,  I encouraged  her  from  time  to  time, 
reminding  her  of  the  increased  pay  if  success- 
ful, and  the  additional  prestige  attaching  to 
the  position  of  insular  teacher.  She  remained 
faithful  to  the  undertaking,  and  as  the  time 
approached  I felt  that  she  would  be  successful. 
I was  ambitious  for  her  to  receive  good  ratings 
and  did  not  cease  to  spur  her  to  great  effort, 
and  assisted  her  all  that  was  possible. 

“Finally  the  examination  day  arrived,  and 
with  great  satisfaction  I saw  her  pass  on  her 
way  to  the  superintendent’s  office.  She  ap- 
peared thoughtful  and  preoccupied;  evidently 
she  felt  that  much  was  expected  of  her  and  she 
would  be  grieved  if  she  failed.  Upon  going 
to  the  office  I noticed  that  Jose  fa  was  intent 
upon  her  papers  and  that  her  cheeks  were 


298 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


flushed,  a rare  occurrence  with  members  of  her 
race;  I attributed  it  to  the  excitement  attend- 
ant upon  the  occasion.  She  did  not  look  up 
from  her  work  and  of  course  I could  not  speak 
to  her.  I felt  pleased  that  I had  succeeded  in 
keeping  her  up  to  the  point  of  undertaking 
the  examination.  I did  not  see  her  at  noon; 
she  was  back  in  her  place  in  the  afternoon,  still 
sober  and  thoughtful  and  even  more  flushed 
than  in  the  morning.  I congratulated  myself 
that  her  hard  work  was  almost  finished ; I knew 
she  would  succeed. 

“That  evening,  just  before  dark,  as  I passed 
by  their  home,  I stopped  under  the  window  and 
called  her.  She  came  to  the  window  sobbing. 
‘Why,  my  dear  girl,’  I said,  ‘what  is  the  mat- 
ter? I know  you  have  done  well.  You  will 
surely  get  good  marks.  Don’t  cry,  Josef  a. 
Let  me  see  your  baby,  do.’  ‘Oh,  Mrs.  Meade,’ 
she  exclaimed,  ‘my  little  Hilario  died  this 
afternoon.’  ‘Why,  Josef  a,  my  child!’  ‘Yes,’ 
she  continued,  sobbing,  after  I had  gone  up 
into  the  house,  ‘yes,  he  took  sick  yesterday. 
Oh,  his  skin  was  very  hot.  All  night  he  tossed 
in  the  hammock.  My  husband  and  I sat  up 
with  him.  We  fanned  him.  This  morning  he 
was  a little  better;  he  took  a few  sips  of  milk;  I 
knew  he  was  very  sick.  But  I went  to  the  ex- 


THE  NATIVE  TEACHERS 


299 


amination.  When  I came  home  he  was  worse; 
the  calentura  was  burning  up  my  baby;  he  lay 
in  the  hammock  and  gasped  for  breath;  the 
day  was  too  hot.  But  I had  to  take  the  exami- 
nation ; I had  to  go  back ; I knew  my  baby  was 
going  to  die;  but  I had  to  go.  My  husband 
went  to  the  almacen  and  got  permission;  he 
was  here ; he  took  care  of  him ; but  I had  to  go 
— it  was  my  duty.  And  while  I was  writing,  I 
knew  that  my  baby  was  dead ; and  when  I came 
home,  I found  it  was  so ; my  little  Hilario  was 
gone.’ 

“I  embraced  the  girl  and  we  wept  together. 
‘Oh,  why  did  you  go  when  your  baby  was  sick? 
Why  didn’t  you  tell  me  of  this,  Josefa?’  ‘Be- 
cause I could  not  take  time  to  go  to  you.  I had 
to  hurry  back  to  my  child.  I wanted  to  stay 
with  my  baby,  hut  the  examination  is  so  impor- 
tant; I had  to  go;  I had  to  leave  him.  Oh,  my 
child,  my  baby !’  And  she  went  over  to  the  bed 
and  knelt  and  sobbed  by  the  little  white  corpse. 

“I  did  what  I could  to  comfort  them.  But 
oh,  how  can  I ever  cease  reproaching  myself 
for  having  placed  so  much  stress  on  the  taking 
of  the  examination  by  that  mother?” 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  A TAO 

Pedro — His  Infancy  and  Childhood — Guarding  the 
Rice — The  Harvest — A Man’s  Work — Times  of 
Plenty — Family  Thrift — Troublous  Times — The 
Arrival  of  the  Americans — From  Bad  to  Worse 
— Pedro’s  Reflections — The  Carabao  Found — 
The  Decision  of  the  Juez — Its  Sequel — Earning 
a Living — The  Taxes — Faith  in  the  Americans — 
The  Boys  in  School — Death  of  the  Grandfather 
— A New  Start. 

Pedro  was  a good  tao.  Though  there  were 
many  things  that  he  did  not  understand,  he 
lived  according  to  his  light;  and  having  been 
taught  by  his  father  not  to  fear  hard  work  he 
had  got  along  very  well  compared  with  his 
neighbors  of  the  barrio  of  Marahay. 

Pedro’s  memory  went  back  to  the  time  when 
his  grandfather  took  him  to  walk  one  evening 
to  show  him  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sights  of 
the  tropics — a tree  alive  with  myriads  of  fire- 
flies, whose  soft  lights,  alternately  glowing 
and  disappearing,  produced  exquisite  effects. 
When  the  child  became  older  he  went  often 

300 


THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  A TAO  301 


alone  to  see  and  marvel  at  the  pretty  sight.  At 
six  years  he  began  to  ride  the  carabao  back  and 
forth  from  the  pasture  to  the  house  and  to 
bathe  it  in  the  creek  when  it  became  too  warm 
from  work.  When  the  rice  was  in  head,  he 
used  to  sit  all  day  long  on  the  nipa  roofed  plat- 
form  raised  in  the  rice  field  and  frighten  away 
the  little  brown  rice-birds,  which  came  flying 
about  in  flocks  and  trying  to  swoop  down  for  a 
few  of  the  hardening  grains.  When  he  saw 
these  he  pulled  one  of  the  long  pieces  of 
bejuco  which  stretched  in  all  directions  over 
the  field,  and  so  caused  a split  bamboo  pole  to 
flap  its  two  portions  together  and  make  a loud 
noise,  which  frightened  the  birds  so  they  flew 
away.  When  these  became  bolder,  he  shouted 
and  drummed  with  a stick  on  an  empty  tin  can 
while  he  pulled  the  bejuco  with  his  foot.  By 
such  means  he  was  able  to  guard  a large  area ; 
and  other  children,  and  sometimes  women,  oc- 
cupied similar  towers,  so  that,  altogether,  the 
rice-birds  had  a hard  time  to  get  grain  enough 
to  eat. 

When  Pedro  became  a youth  he  found  him- 
self doing  a man’s  work,  laboriously  guiding 
the  crude  wooden  plough  drawn  by  the  slow- 
moving  carabao  back  and  forth  through  the 
mud  and  water  until  the  rice  paddy  was  like 


302 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


mush;  then  for  days  bending  over  constantly 
in  the  hot  sun,  and  sometimes  in  the  rain, 
thrusting  the  individual  rice  plants  into  the 
soft  mud  at  equal  intervals,  until  the  wide 
sementeras  of  Don  Eugenio,  the  rich  man  of 
the  town,  were  planted.  In  four  months  came 
the  rice  harvest.  Then  the  men  and  women 
and  large  boys  and  girls  went  into  the  fields 
with  small  knives,  cutting  each  stalk  separately 
and  binding  large  handfuls  together  into 
manojos,  which  they  set  upon  the  ground  until 
late  afternoon,  when  they  were  hauled  to  the 
granary.  Those  were  happy  times,  for  the 
people,  by  working  a few  months,  were  able 
to  earn  enough  rice  to  keep  them  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year  with  very  little  labor ; and 
when  the  grain  wras  stored  in  safety  there  were 
festivities  and  dancing.  But  Pedro  and  his 
father  were  of  the  few  that  did  not  lie  idle 
during  the  months  between  the  harvest  and  the 
subsequent  planting;  they  busied  themselves 
cultivating  camotes  and  other  vegetables  and 
working  in  the  mill  in  Don  Eugenio’s  cocoa- 
nut  grove,  where  the  oil  was  expressed  from 
the  meat  of  the  nuts.  Thus,  by  industry  and 
good  management,  Pedro’s  father  had  accu- 
mulated a herd  of  four  carabao  if  the  calf 
were  counted.  Some  time  he  hoped  to  be 


THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  A TAO  303 


independent.  Pedro  married,  and  set  up  a 
home  of  his  own,  and  in  time  found  himself 
the  father  of  a family  of  five  children. 

There  came  bad  times  then.  Pedro’s 
mother  died  and  Pedro  and  his  family  went 
to  live  with  the  father,  working  both  places. 
All  of  the  carabao  died  except  the  calf.  The 
insurrection  against  the  Spanish  power  spread 
to  the  province;  the  friar  was  driven  from  the 
town  by  his  own  parishioners,  so  resentful  were 
they  of  his  avarice  and  haughtiness;  the  Span- 
ish governor  fled  to  Manila;  some  Spaniards 
went  with  him,  others  were  imprisoned  and  a 
few  were  killed.  The  provisional  government 
was  organized.  Then  in  a few  months  the 
Americanos  came;  these,  it  had  been  said,  were 
great  giants  with  red  hair  and  green  eyes,  who 
rode  immense  horses  and  talked  very  loud. 
Like  the  others,  Pedro  fled  with  his  family  to 
the  mountains,  leaving  the  two  dwellings  and 
their  contents  and  the  carabao  calf  unguarded, 
taking  with  them  only  what  they  were  able  to 
carry  on  their  backs.  Some  fear-crazed  men 
set  fire  to  the  parish  church,  which  had  cost 
their  grandfathers  so  much  toil,  and  it  was 
destroyed,  the  blackened  walls  only  remaining 
to  remind  the  world  of  their  foolishness. 

In  a few  days  the  report  spread  among  the 


304 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


fugitives  on  the  mountain  side  that  the  Amer- 
icanos were  not  so  cruel  as  had  been  believed; 
it  was  even  said  that  one  of  their  soldiers  had 
been  seen  giving  food  to  a child  which  had  lost 
its  parents;  and  it  was  not  long  before  Pedro 
came  back  and  found  his  property  safe  as  he 
had  left  it,  the  family  following  the  next  day. 
There  was  not  much  fighting  in  that  region; 
the  people,  and  especially  the  children,  liked 
the  Americanos,  except  occasionally  when  a 
soldier  became  drunk  on  vino,  and  then  they 
were  mightily  afraid,  running  into  their  houses 
and  shutting  doors  and  windows.  But  the 
times  were  unsettled;  it  was  not  known  when 
the  fighting  betAveen  the  insurgents  and  the 
Americans  might  come  that  way;  most  of  the 
carabao  had  died,  and  the  rice  crop  could  not 
be  planted. 

The  folloAving  year,  the  fighting  being  over, 
Pedro  borrowed  a carabao  from  Don  Eugenio, 
and  planted  a little  rice,  but  when  it  was  one- 
third  grown  the  locusts  took  it.  The  family 
had  hard  work  to  live;  had  it  not  been  for  sell- 
ing chickens  and  eggs  to  the  soldiers,  the  chil- 
dren would  often  have  gone  hungry  to  bed. 
To  add  to  his  misfortunes,  Pedro  woke  up  one 
morning  and  found  that  the  carabao,  now  al- 
most two  years  old,  which  had  been  given  to 


THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  A TAO  305 


him  by  his  father,  had  disappeared  from  the 
pasture,  and  he  could  find  no  trace  of  it, 
though  he  spent  days  travelling  about  the 
country  and  making  inquiries;  and  the  loss,  at 
the  time  that  the  animal  was  nearly  large  and 
strong  enough  to  use,  was  almost  more  than  he 
could  bear.  Following  this  misfortune  came 
the  cholera,  which  took  two  of  the  children,  the 
second  and  third  in  order  of  birth.  Gracias  a 
Dios,  three  remained;  and  Benigno  was  learn- 
ing English  from  the  soldier  teacher  in  the 
school.  Benigno  would  be  a wise  man  some 
day,  and  then  perhaps  Pedro  could  find  out 
some  things  that  he  wanted  to  know.  Why 
were  the  white  people  rich— the  Filipinos 
poor?  He  had  never  known  a white  man  who 
was  not  well  off ; even  the  Spanish  soldiers 
who  remained  in  the  province  occupied  better 
houses  than  the  natives  and  had  better  clothing 
and  more  food.  Why  this  unequal  distribu- 
tion of  favors?  Why  were  there  no  Filipino 
saints?  In  all  his  church  going,  in  all  the  re- 
ligious processions  he  had  ever  seen,  never  was 
there  an  image  of  a Malay  saint.  But  Benigno 
was  going  to  school  and  learning  English — 
perhaps  he  would  know  some  time. 

Word  came  to  Pedro  one  day  that  a neigh- 
bor had  seen  his  carabao  working  in  a field  near 


306 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


the  neighboring  town  of  Tabo,  fifteen  miles 
distant ; and  thither  he  went  to  learn  the  truth 
of  the  report.  He  found  it  to  be  his  own  ani- 
mal ; true,  it  was  larger  than  when  it  was  stolen, 
but  he  recognized  his  property  by  a dozen 
small  peculiarities,  such  as  would  ordinarily 
pass  unnoticed:  the  greater  corrugation  of  the 
left  horn,  the  black  spot  on  the  tongue,  the  per- 
foration of  the  nostril — by  these  marks  and 
others  Pedro  identified  his  carabao.  His  brand 
was  there,  too,  but  not  as  it  had  been.  The 
thief  was  clever  enough  to  change  that  by  pre- 
fixing another  character  and  altering  the  orig- 
inal; but  it  could  be  seen,  if  one  looked  care- 
fully, that  these  parts  were  newer. 

Pedro  went  to  the  man  who  claimed  the  ani- 
mal and  tactfully  questioned  him  about  it.  He 
was  told  that  it  had  been  purchased  in  the  ad- 
joining province  from  one  who  had  since  died; 
and  a bill-of-sale  was  exhibited  showing  its 
transfer,  apparently  legally  drawn  and  exe- 
cuted. In  his  trouble,  Pedro  went  to  Don 
Eugenio  and  laid  the  facts  before  him,  asking 
'his  advice.  Eugenio  could  think  of  nothing 
'better  than  to  bring  suit  in  the  justice  court  for 
•the  animal’s  recovery,  although  he  had  little 
confidence  in  the  integrity  of  the  juez ; and  this 
-was  done.  The  juez  decided  that  the  cqrabap 


THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  A TAO  307 


should  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  equally  divided 
between  the  claimants;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
he  ordered  privately  that  it  be  taken  to  his  own 
place  in  the  country,  where  he  continued  to 
work  it  month  after  month,  in  spite  of  the 
representations  and  mild  protests  of  the  two 
claimants.  At  the  end  of  six  months  Pedro 
again  sought  Eugenio’s  advice.  The  Don 
could  only  shrug  his  shoulders,  throw  up  his 
hands,  and  tell  the  poor  man  that  the  juez 
could  do  as  he  liked;  at  least  he  knew  of  no 
way  to  oblige  him  to  do  differently — it  had 
been  tried  and  had  failed.  At  the  same  time 
he  said,  “Paciencia.  Some  day  it  may  come 
right.” 

Pedro  had  faith  in  the  Americans,  and  yet 
the  maestro  americano  had  told  Benigno  that 
now  every  man  has  equal  rights  under  the  gov- 
ernment; and  it  could  not  be  true.  Else  why 
was  his  carabao  not  returned  to  him,  or  at  least 
half  of  the  proceeds  of  its  sale?  If  he  had  even 
the  half  of  the  animal’s  value,  he  could  buy  a 
new  one  from  Eugenio,  who  would  wait  for 
the  remainder  of  the  money  until  Pedro  could 
pay  it.  Surely  the  maestro  must  be  wrong. 

In  the  meantime  both  father  and  mother  did 
their  utmost  to  earn  the  family  living  and  keep 
Benigno  in  school.  Pedro  was  employed  by 


308 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Don  Eugenio  to  care  for  one  of  his  cocoanut 
groves,  where  tuba  was  gathered.  Early  each 
morning  the  tao  might  be  seen  climbing  the  tall 
trees  with  hands  and  feet,  monkey  fashion, 
making  good  use  of  his  almost  prehensile  great 
toes;  emptying  the  bamboo  vessels  suspended 
under  the  cut  flower  stems  into  a larger  vessel 
hanging  at  his  back;  walking  from  tree  to  tree 
on  the  bamboo  poles  placed  between  until  the 
receptacle  was  filled,  and  then  clambering  to 
the  ground  again.  In  early  morning  the  tuba 
is  a refreshing  drink,  much  like  fresh  apple 
cider;  but  as  the  day  advances  it  ferments  rap- 
idly. After  collecting  the  product  each  morn- 
ing it  was  taken  to  the  distillery  half  way  to 
town,  where  it  was  converted  into  vino.  The 
wife  and  mother  grew  betel  leaves  in  the  lot 
next  the  house,  picking  them  from  the  trellised 
vines  every  alternate  morning  and  taking 
them  to  sell  in  the  market. 

One  day  Pedro  and  his  neighbors  were  dis- 
turbed by  the  news  which  came  to  them  that 
the  government  required  them  to  pay  a yearly 
tax  on  their  land — something  that  they  had 
never  bef ore  heard  of.  For  a small  tract  such 
as  Pedro’s  or  his  father’s  the  tax  would  not 
amount  to  more  than  two  or  three  pesos,  but 
many  of  the  people  found  it  difficult  to  raise 


THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  A TAO  309 


even  that  sum.  When  some  murmured  to 
Pedro,  he  reminded  them  that  in  Spanish  times 
they  had  had  to  pay  as  much  as  five  pesos  for 
their  cedula  or  poll-tax,  whereas  that  wras  now 
only  one  peso.  While  Pedro  did  not  under- 
stand the  new  system,  he  had  faith  that  the 
Americans  at  Manila  would  do  nothing  un- 
just, for  did  they  not  send  teachers  and  school- 
books that  Benigno  might  learn  their  own  lan- 
guage and  become  like  them?  So  Pedro 
worked  a little  harder  than  before  and  was  able 
to  pay  the  taxes  on  both  tracts.  Benigno,  ac- 
cording to  report,  was  progressing  well  in  the 
poblacion  school;  he  was  already  a member  of 
the  “municipal  council”  there,  and  took  part  in 
debates  on  local  public  questions;  and  the 
father’s  pride  was  great.  The  next  younger 
child,  Cecilio,  attended  the  barrio  school  in 
Marahay  taught  by  native  teachers,  and  he, 
too,  gladdened  his  parents’  hearts  when  he 
brought  home  and  read  to  them  exercises  like 
the  following,  which,  though  they  could  not 
understand  it,  they  thought  must  surely  be 
very  good : 

I Write  a Story  About  the  Bird 

This  morning  the  bird  sang  to  me.  This  morning 
my  trap  take  one  bird  and  I take  my  home  and  put 


310 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


me  down  the  cage  and  sing.  Oh,  my  bird,  why  you 
sing  for  me?  The  bird  said,  I sing  because  you  take 
me.  Where  did  the  bird  flew  this  morning,  Mary? 
Where  do  you  come  from,  my  bird,  this  morning? 
The  bird  said,  I came  from  in  the  tree.  Do  you  see 
the  birds  flying  down  the  tree,  Mary?  Mary  said, 
Yes,  I saw  the  birds  flying  down  the  tree.  Then  the 
happy  birds  said  I am  flying  upon  the  tree,  and  sing 
a pretty  song,  and  me.  Come  here  little  bird  and 
clows  my  trap  and  catch  you  me  and  put  my  little 
cage  and  sing  to  you  and  to  me. 


The  health  of  Pedro’s  father  had  been  weak- 
ened by  a long  and  severe  attack  of  calentura; 
and  when  he  was  only  partially  recovered  he 
became  afflicted  with  rheumatism.  According 
to  usage,  Pedro  and  his  wife  attempted  to  alle- 
viate the  old  man’s  sufferings  by  applying 
burning  pieces  of  cocoanut  shell  to  the  thick 
of  the  calves  behind,  causing  painful  wounds, 
which,  when  healed,  left  great  scars.  The 
rheumatism  becoming  better,  it  was  thought 
a visit  to  his  brother  in  a neighboring  town 
might  help  the  grandf  ather,  and  thither  Pedro 
took  him  for  a month.  Soon  after  he  re- 
turned he  was  found  to  have  contracted  beri- 
beri in  some  way,  and  he  became  unable  to  walk 
because  of  the  stiffness  and  swollen  condition 
of  his  legs.  Upon  his  death  a few  months  later 


THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  A TAO  311 


Pedro  found  the  sum  demanded  by  the  priest 
for  performing  the  burial  service  more  than  he 
was  able  to  command ; and  had  it  not  been  for 
the  kindness  of  Don  Eugenio,  to  whom  the 
poor  man  appealed  while  the  case  containing 
the  corpse  rested  on  the  earth  in  front  of  the 
church,  the  burial  would  probably  have  taken 
place  without  religious  rites.  “Why  is  there 
so  much  sickness  among  us  Filipinos?”  Pedro 
asked  Benigno  on  the  way  home  from  the 
cemetery.  “Teacher  says  it  is  not  so  in 
America,”  answered  the  boy.  “Ah,  then  some 
day  you  will  know,  Benigno.  Some  day  the 
Filipinos  will  be  wise  and  strong,  like  the 
Americanos.” 

It  was  now  a full  year  since  the  juez  had  sent 
the  carabao  to  work  on  his  place,  and  still  he 
refused  to  talk  to  Pedro  about  it.  But  one 
day  Don  Eugenio  winked  his  eye  and  said, 
“Paciencia”  and  in  another  fortnight  the  ani- 
mal was  sold  and  Pedro  received  his  half  of 
the  money;  and  strange  though  it  seemed  to 
the  taos,  there  was  a new  juez — no  other,  in 
fact,  than  Eugenio.  “The  Americanos  under- 
stand,” said  Pedro.  With  his  new  carabao  he 
made  a new  beginning;  the  locusts  did  not 
come  that  year,  and  he  harvested  his  rice.  Next 
year  he  will  plant  more,  and  if  additional  mis- 


312 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


fortunes  do  not  come  too  rapidly  he  and  his 
family  will  prosper. 

In  the  tao  and  his  children  lies  the  hope  for 
the  future.  Upon  their  prosperity  depends 
their  enlightenment ; and  upon  their  enlighten- 
ment and  their  industrial  and  civic  education 
during  the  next  century  depends  the  happy 
solution  of  the  Philippine  problem — the  crea- 
tion of  an  enduring  Philippine  nation. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN 

Don  Fulgencio  and  His  Family — His  Business — A 
Habit  That  Could  Not  Be  Broken — Sociability — 
Capitan  Domingo,  the  Presidente  of  Mirasol — 
Methods  of  Electioneering — Lax  Administration 
- — Gambling — Petty  Grafting — Don  Mariano, 
the  Governor  — An  Efficient  Officer  — Public 
Scoldings — The  Justices  of  the  Peace — Their 
Tyranny — What  Would  Become  of  the  Tao? — 
The  Bird  of  Seven  Colors — Fulgencio’s  Applica- 
tion of  the  Story. 

In  the  course  of  my  travels  over  the  archi- 
pelago I came  in  time  to  the  Province  of 
Xueva  Castilla,  where  I sojourned  for  a con- 
siderable period,  making  my  headquarters  at 
the  home  of  Don  Fulgencio,  one  of  the  prin- 
cipals of  the  town  of  Mirasol.  Don  Fulgencio 
was  a fine  example  of  the  elderly  Filipino, 
nearly  six  feet  tall,  well-proportioned,  strong 
and  vigorous  in  spite  of  his  gray  hairs  and 
more  than  sixty  years.  For  a pure-blooded 
Malay  he  was  fine-featured;  great  strength  of 

313 


314 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


character  was  evidenced  by  his  mouth  and  eyes ; 
and  intimate  acquaintance  confirmed  one’s  first 
impression  that  he  was  an  exceptional  man — 
his  kind  far  too  rare  to  be  considered  in  any 
sense  typical.  It  was  my  privilege  to  be  a 
member  of  Don  Fulgencio’s  family  during  the 
months  I lived  in  Mirasol — a privilege  preg- 
nant with  opportunity  for  the  study  of  native 
character ; and  to  this  I devoted  all  of  my  spare 
time  and  attention.  The  sefiora  was  Fulgen- 
cio’s second  wif  e and  the  mother  of  his  five  fine 
children.  The  two  eldest  boys  had  been  attend- 
ing school  in  Manila  for  four  years,  the  last 
two  years  in  the  Manila  Normal  School,  where 
they  did  good  work  and  stood  near  the  heads 
of  their  classes.  Dolores  and  Froilan  attended 
the  public  school  in  Mirasol.  Crecenciano’s 
schooling  was  not  yet  begun.  This  little  five- 
year-old,  sweet  and  clean,  maintained  the  pre- 
rogative of  small  Filipinos  of  whatever  station 
in  life  of  going  about  with  his  lower  limbs 
free  from  the  incumbrance  of  clothing,  except 
when  he  went  to  church  and  like  formal  occa- 
sions. 

One  day,  when  the  father,  perhaps  out  of 
deference  to  the  artificiality  of  us  of  the  West, 
had  proposed  putting  the  young  man  in  trou- 
sers for  good  and  all,  the  American  teacher, 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  315 


who  happened  to  be  present,  spoke  up  and 
said,  “No,  Fulgencio,  leave  Crecenciano  as  he 
is.  Why  spoil  the  child’s  infancy,  curb  his 
freedom  and  destroy  his  comfort  before  time?” 
At  these  words  the  senoras  face  beamed  with 
gratification;  plainly  apparent  was  her  desire 
to  keep  her  last-born  a child  as  long  as  she 
might  be  able.  While  Fulgencio  spoke  Span- 
ish well,  his  wife’s  knowledge  of  it  was  limited, 
and  Tagalog  was  the  language  of  the  house- 
hold. An  excellent  housekeeper  was  the 
senora,  devoting  her  time  to  the  care  of  the 
children  and  the  direction  of  the  household 
work  performed  by  the  half-score  of  servants. 
Under  her  supervision  these  prepared  the  food 
for  the  family,  bathed  and  clothed  the  young 
children,  cared  for  the  family  linen,  wove  cloth 
of  abaca  on  the  loom,  polished  the  hardwood 
floors  and  looked  after  the  pigs  and  poultry. 
These  domestic  undertakings  and  her  church 
duties  took  up  the  time  and  filled  the  mind  of 
the  se flora. 

On  his  part,  Fulgencio  busied  himself  with 
the  oversight  of  his  hemp  plantations,  to  which 
he  rode  out  almost  every  fine  day.  In  addition 
to  hemp  he  dealt  in  rice,  receiving  by  boat  from 
Manila  shipments  of  a hundred  sacks  at  a time, 
which  were  stored  in  the  dry  basement  of  the 


316 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


dwelling  and  resold  to  the  market  people  and 
small  dealers.  From  the  ravages  of  the  rin- 
derpest he  had  managed  to  save  eight  head 
of  carabao , which,  hitched  to  the  rude  carts, 
hauled  the  hemp  to  the  almacen  at  the  wharf 
and  brought  back  the  rice.  The  duty  of  keep- 
ing account  of  the  latter  devolved  upon  an- 
other member  of  the  family,  the  old  father  of 
the  senora,  who  was  too  feeble  to  occupy  him- 
self more  actively.  He  attended  also  to  the 
sales,  rendering  daily  account  to  his  prosper- 
ous son-in-law. 

This  old  gentleman  was  very  fond  of  his 
buyo,  though,  as  he  confided  to  me,  he  had 
tried  many  times  to  break  himself  of  the  habit. 
The  fact  that  he  was  toothless  did  not  prevent 
his  indulgence.  He  carried  with  him  wherever 
he  went  a small  box  woven  of  pliable  rattan, 
which  contained  the  various  ingredients  in 
quantities  proportioned  to  his  needs — the 
boiiga  or  betel-nuts,  divided  into  fragments 
the  size  of  beech-nuts,  a roll  of  fresh  betel 
leaves,  and  for  the  pulverized  lime,  a receptacle 
similar  to  a small  powder-horn.  Besides  these 
materials  he  had  for  a mortar  a section  of  a 
bamboo  stem  the  bottom  of  which  was  closed 
with  leather,  and  for  a pestle  a piece  of  an  old 
file  broadened  into  a dull  blade  at  one  end. 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  317 


Dropping  a piece  of  nut  into  the  mortar  with  a 
small  quantity  of  lime  he  pulverized  and  mixed 
these  and  poured  the  compound  into  the  palm 
of  his  hand.  Having  already  folded  a betel 
leaf  he  tilted  back  his  head,  opened  his  water- 
ing mouth,  and  into  it  thrust  the  leaf  and 
emptied  the  contents  of  his  concaved  palm; 
after  which  proceeding  he  found  life  decidedly 
worth  living  for  another  half-hour.  Don  An- 
tonio was  a benevolent  old  man  and  I could  not 
help  loving  him,  as  much  for  his  amiable  weak- 
ness for  buyo  as  for  his  kindliness. 

Besides  being  an  earnest  supporter  of  the 
public  schools  Don  Fulgencio  was  himself  a 
student  of  English,  and,  in  spite  of  his  age, 
had  progressed  sufficiently  to  carry  on  a sim- 
ple, though  somewhat  halting,  conversation. 
Great  was  his  interest  in  America  and  many 
were  the  questions  he  asked  in  reference  to  our 
customs.  His  one  great  desire  was  to  visit  the 
United  States  and  with  his  own  eyes  see  our 
civilization.  Neighbors  and  friends  came  in 
frequently  to  spend  the  evening;  these,  seated 
in  chairs  in  parallel  rows  facing  each  other, 
talked  of  local  happenings,  affairs  in  Manila, 
and  the  last  reports  from  the  seat  of  the  Russo- 
Japanese  war.  There  was  music  and  merri- 
ment when  the  senoras  niece  from  the  adjoin- 


318 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


ing  province  visited  the  family;  for  the  senor- 
ita  was  able  both  to  sing  and  to  play,  and  F ul- 
gencio  had  purchased  a piano  that  his  only 
daughter,  Dolores,  might  receive  musical  train- 
ing. But  there  was  one  for  whom  Fulgencio 
had  little  use,  who  never  crossed  his  threshold, 
and  he  was  Capitan  Domingo. 

Domingo  Santa  Clara,  the  presidente  of 
Mirasol,  was  a generous,  warm-hearted  and 
even  an  affectionate  man,  willing  to  do  any- 
thing within  his  power  for  his  friends;  but  that 
is  not  to  say  that  he  was  an  honest  and  efficient 
public  officer.  He  once  confided  to  me  that  he 
believed  himself  destined  to  serve  the  public  in 
an  official  capacity,  as  he  had  done  f or  the  past 
thirty  years;  he  did  not  add  that  he  also 
thought  himself  privileged  to  make  as  much 
pecuniary  profit  by  the  wayside,  in  addition 
to  his  legitimate  emoluments,  as  the  circum- 
stances and  the  credulity  and  fear  of  his 
fellow-citizens  might  allow.  During  his  cam- 
paign for  reelection,  any  voter  might  go  to 
Capitan  Domingo  and  be  sure  of  an  attentive 
ear  to  his  complaint ; if  he  was  in  personal  trou- 
ble or  financial  straits,  no  one  was  so  willing 
to  help  him.  Near  the  close  of  the  campaign, 
the  Capitan  always  gave  a baile  and  supper  on 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  319 


a magnificent  scale  to  the  leading  people  of 
the  town,  including  the  provincial  officials; 
during  the  last  fortnight,  he  had  frequent  sup- 
pers at  his  home  for  the  electors  of  less  promi- 
nence. Indeed,  the  rival  candidates  adopted 
the  same  custom,  and  the  voters — they  who 
could  read  and  write  English  or  Spanish  or 
who  owned  property  to  the  value  of  500  pesos 
— were  invited  to  a round  of  feasting.  The  ma- 
jority accepted  invitations  from  all  of  the  can- 
didates, shrewdly  postponing  their  decision  for 
whom  to  vote  until  the  day  before  the  election. 
In  case  of  Capitan  Domingo’s  reelection,  a 
fact  assured  as  long  as  I was  familiar  with  the 
situation,  he  gave  another  brilliant  function  by 
way  of  celebration  of  the  event.  Upon  such 
occasion  he  was  in  his  happiest  mood,  going 
about  among  his  guests,  slapping  this  one 
good-naturedly  on  the  back,  cracking  a joke 
with  another,  drinking  a glass  of  vino  with  a 
group  in  the  ante-room  and  then  dancing  the 
rigodon  in  the  sola,  receiving  meantime  with 
face  a-smile  compliments  and  congratulations 
from  all.  His  wife  and  grown  daughters  were 
most  gracious  in  their  attentions  to  the  guests ; 
and  every  one,  Filipino,  Spaniard  and  Ameri- 
can, thoroughly  enjoyed  Capitan  Domingo’s 
bailes. 


320 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Afterward  the  municipal  government  was 
conducted  as  before.  Lax  in  the  performance 
of  his  official  duties,  the  repairs  to  streets 
and  bridges  were  neglected;  the  schools  did 
not  receive  promptly  the  aid  they  required. 
Though  there  was  an  ordinance  against  gam- 
bling it  was  not  enforced;  even  the  presidenta 
converted  the  family  dwelling  into  a gambling 
house.  A strange  visitor  or  an  American 
official  arriving  at  an  unexpected  moment  was 
kept  waiting  at  the  door  until  the  cards  were 
thrust  into  the  drawer  and  the  silver  coins,  with 
subdued  clinking,  were  removed  from  sight. 
To  those  who  frequented  the  place  the  play 
was  largely  diversion,  but  it  was  more  than 
that  to  the  senora,  for  she  was  the  banker  and 
received  a percentage  of  the  winnings;  like 
many  of  her  sisters  she  possessed  a strong  in- 
stinct f or  gain  whether  by  traffic  or  play.  The 
attribute  of  acquisitiveness  was  largely  devel- 
oped, too,  in  the  Capitan.  On  Sunday  after- 
noons he  was  found  at  the  cock-pit;  whenever 
the  occasion  permitted  he  played  at  burro , fan- 
tan  or  monte. 

One  day  he  related  to  me  how  he  managed 
his  affairs  of  this  nature.  He  had,  he  said,  a 
system  of  accounts  in  which  were  entered  all  of 
his  gains  and  losses  so  that  at  the  end  of  the 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  321 


year  he  knew  exactly  how  much  he  had  won. 
His  books  always  showed  a credit  balance,  he 
explained;  indeed,  he  was  able  to  support  his 
family  and  pay  all  living  expenses  from  his 
gains,  including  the  cost  of  those  delightful 
entertainments  before  and  after  election  and 
at  other  times  as  well.  “And  how  do  you  man- 
age, Capitan  Domingo,  that  the  balance  is  al- 
ways on  the  right  side?”  “Muy  sencillo”  he 
replied ; “if  I see  that  I am  losing,  I withdraw 
my  cocks  from  the  pit,  or  stop  my  play,  and 
refrain  altogether  for  a few  days  or  a week. 
Then  I play  for  small  stakes,  to  test  my  luck; 
if  unsuccessful,  I again  withdraw;  but  if  I 
win,  I go  in  again  and  play  big.”  Whether  the 
Capitan  told  me  the  truth  as  to  the  amount  of 
his  gains  I do  not  know ; but  I am  satisfied  that 
he  did  not  understate  it.  If  these  things  were 
all  of  which  the  presidente  was  guilty,  we  could 
excuse  his  faults  as  being  due  to  education  and 
environment ; but  he  did  not  limit  his  misdoings 
to  them.  If  the  presidencia  were  to  be  re- 
paired, he  himself  named  the  workmen  who 
were  to  be  employed  and  fixed  their  wages ; he 
bought  the  lumber  for  the  partitions,  the  nipa 
and  bejuco  for  the  roof,  and  the  lime  for  the 
whitewash.  On  most  of  these  transactions  he 
received  a commission — some  return  of  labor 


322 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


or  material  for  his  personal  benefit  and  gain. 
The  secretary  and  treasurer  and  members  of 
the  police  force  were  appointed  by  him*  and 
were  thus  under  personal  obligations.  Of  the 
amount  set  aside  for  stationery  and  illumi- 
nants,  a portion  found  its  way  into  the  presi- 
dential pockets.  There  were  few  transactions 
involving  the  expenditure  of  funds  that  did 
not  inure  in  some  way  to  the  personal  profit  of 
the  presidente , and  sometimes  to  other  officials 
of  the  town. 

Such  customs  are  the  products  of  the  Span- 
ish regime  in  the  Philippines.  At  that  time 
the  alcalde  received  no  salary;  hence,  no  objec- 
tion was  made  to  his  recouping  himself  as  best 
he  might  for  time  given  and  services  rendered 
to  the  public.  So  that  the  blame  attaches  to 
the  former  system  in  a much  greater  degree 
than  to  the  human  products  of  the  system. 
The  habits  then  formed  cannot  be  broken  off 
immediately,  although  most  presidentes  now 
receive  fair  salaries,  and  some  of  them  gener- 
ous ones.  Whether  the  civilization  that  is  now 
replacing  that  of  Spain  will  result  in  an  im- 
provement in  the  municipal  government  of 
such  towns  as  Mirasol,  or  whether  the  fame 

* Municipal  treasurers  are  no  longer  appointed  by  the  presi- 
dentes. 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  323 


and  example  of  our  corrupt  city  bosses  will 
eventually  cause  the  present  petty  grafting  to 
be  accomplished  more  adroitly  and  on  a larger 
scale,  the  future  alone  can  tell. 

Let  me  now  portray  a more  pleasing  char- 
acter. Don  Mariano  had  been  appointed  gov- 
ernor of  Nueva  Castilla,  to  fill  the  unexpired 
term  of  his  American  predecessor,  who  had 
been  designated  to  fill  a position  under  the 
insular  government.  He  was  short  of  stature 
and  very  dark.  His  small  twinkling  eyes  could 
smile,  frown  or  flash,  as  the  occasion  de- 
manded. He  had  become  wealthy  in  hemp 
and  was  reputed  to  be  a millionaire.  Before 
becoming  governor  he  had  the  reputation  of 
being  the  most  able  and  energetic  yresidente  in 
the  province,  and  his  town  had  been  the  best 
governed,  as  Mirasol  was  one  of  the  worst. 
Like  all  Filipinos  in  public  life,  educated  and 
trained  under  the  Spanish  regime,  he  was  arbi- 
trary and  autocratic,  but  unlike  most  such,  he 
did  not  abuse  his  authority.  In  these  days  of 
reconstruction  there  are  many  officers  of  mu- 
nicipalities who,  besides  being  dishonest,  are 
petty  tyrants  as  well;  and  the  ignorant  tao, 
who  never  before  enjoyed  political  rights,  and 
who  is  slow  to  realize  that  he  now  possesses 


3 24 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


them,  tamely  submits  to  exploitation;  he  may 
murmur  to  himself,  but  dare  not  do  so  in  pub- 
lic; and  as  for  bringing  a formal  complaint 
against  his  presidente  or  juez  de  paz,  he  would 
as  soon  think  of  embarking  for  the  moon. 
Don  Mariano  was  not  gentle  with  such  offend- 
ing officials  when,  as  occasionally  happened, 
he  became  cognizant  of  their  abuses  or  neglect 
of  duty;  and  woe  betide  the  offender  who  in- 
curred his  displeasure — well  might  he  wish 
that  he  had  never  been  born.  A scathing  re- 
buke, administered  in  public  more  often  than 
not,  followed  by  a lecture,  was  the  punishment 
for  minor  offences;  and  thereafter  the  govern- 
or’s eye  was  upon  that  official,  and  he  was 
not  likely  to  offend  again  soon.  If  the  offence 
were  of  greater  gravity  the  reprimand  and 
upbraiding  were  followed  by  suspension  pend- 
ing formal  investigation  and  punishment  by 
the  provincial  board. 

Thus,  if  the  presidente  of  Tindalo  had 
neglected  to  repair  the  bridge  over  the  creek  at 
the  edge  of  the  town,  the  governor,  on  his  next 
journey  that  way,  would  invite  the  derelict 
official  to  go  with  him  to  inspect  it ; arrived  on 
the  spot,  with  scornful  lip  and  flashing  eye,  in 
the  presence  of  the  bystanders,  Don  Mariano 
would  upbraid  and  denounce  the  unhappy 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  325 


man  in  words  like  these:  “Don  Tomas,  it 
has  been  eleven  weeks  since  I passed  this  way 
before,  and  you  have  done  absolutely  nothing 
to  put  this  bridge  in  shape.  What  do  you  do 
with  your  time?  Do  you  sleep  all  day,  or  are 
you  so  interested  in  training  your  game-cocks 
that  you  cannot  attend  to  public  business?  Fie, 
for  shame.  Why  did  you  permit  your  fellow- 
townsmen  to  elect  you  to  the  honorable  office 
of  presidente  if  you  did  not  intend  to  fulfil 
your  duties?  So  far  as  I can  see,  your  sole  in- 
terest lies  in  collecting  your  monthly  salary  of 
fifty  pesos;  just  fifty  pesos  too  much  for  so 
lazy  an  official  as  you.  Y ou  have  been  collect- 
ing the  material,  have  you  ? Where  is  it,  then  ? 
So  it  is  still  in  the  woods,  as  I thought.  How 
many  logs  have  you  cut?  Only  two?  Indolent 
one.  Why,  man,  don’t  you  know  that  the 
presidente  of  Cuyus-cuyus  cut  and  drew  six 
heavy  timbers  and  thirty  planks  for  the  repair 
of  the  bridge  there  in  two  weeks,  and  had  them 
in  place  in  a third?  If  he  can  do  that,  why 
cannot  you?  It  is  a pity  that  you  cannot  do 
even  your  small  part  in  the  upbuilding  of  your 
town,  when  the  insular  government  grants  you 
schools  and  teachers  for  your  children  and  the 
province  builds  your  roads.  Shame  on  you,  I 
say.  Be  alive,  man ; wake  up  and  do  something 


326 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


for  your  people.  You  will  do  better  hereafter? 
I am  glad  to  hear  that.  I expect  to  be  this  way 
again  in  about  a month,  and  we  will  then  see  if 
you  are  sincere.” 

And  the  governor  stalks  back  to  town,  soon 
forgetting  his  choler,  laughing  and  joking 
merrily,  while  Don  Tomas  follows  behind  like 
a whipped  dog.  Upon  Don  Mariano’s  depart- 
ure he  grasps  Tomas  by  the  hand,  harboring 
no  resentment  whatever;  but  the  same  cannot 
be  said  of  the  presidente.  The  governor  does 
not  forget  to  watch  the  case,  and  nine  times 
out  of  ten  the  labor  is  quickly  accomplished. 
As  may  be  imagined,  our  genial  friend,  Capi- 
tan  Domingo,  the  inefficient  presidente  of 
Mirasol,  came  in  for  a deal  of  gubernatorial 
censure  from  time  to  time;  but  he  was  so  con- 
firmed in  neglectful  ways  by  his  previous  years 
of  service,  that  his  activity  was  only  of  a tem- 
porary character,  and  was  always  followed  by 
a relapse  until  conditions  again  became  so  bad 
that  the  governor  was  obliged  to  interfere. 
Such  admirable  procedure  on  Don  Mariano’s 
part  was  not  calculated  to  win  him  the  support 
of  these  unfaithful  officials  and  their  henchmen 
when  he  stood  for  election,  but  he  seemed  not 
to  consider  this.  Be  it  said  that  the  better 
element  rallied  to  his  support  and  he  was  thus 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  327 


able  to  succeed  himself  as  governor,  much  to 
the  gratification  of  Don  Fulgencio  and  all 
others  who,  at  heart,  desired  the  greatest  good 
for  the  Province  of  Nueva  Castilla. 

Among  the  petty  tyrants  of  Philippine 
towns  the  justices-of-the-peace,  as  a class, 
easily  take  first  rank.  While  I was  personally 
acquainted  with  a number  of  honest  and  up- 
right men  who  held  this  office,  such  comprise 
but  a small  minority.  As  an  instance,  the  case 
of  the  juez  of  Cuyus-cuyus  may  be  cited. 
Long  did  he  dispense  injustice  in  his  court,  and 
so  completely  did  the  people  fear  him  that  no 
one  was  willing  to  incur  his  enmity  by  prefer- 
ring charges  against  him.  Having  the  other 
officials  of  the  town  completely  under  his  in- 
fluence, he  had  it  in  his  power  to  make  life  very 
unpleasant  for  any  who  might  thus  attempt  to 
curb  his  power  and  ambition.  In  one  instance, 
indeed,  a prominent  citizen  of  the  town  had 
had  the  temerity  to  send  a written  complaint 
to  the  provincial  capital,  where,  it  was  stated, 
it  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a Filipino  official 
who  was  a friend  of  the  juez.  The  complaint 
was  quashed,  charges  of  treason  were  insti- 
gated, and  a constabulary  guard  was  sent  to 
arrest  the  complainant  and  take  him  to  the 


328 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


capital,  where  at  a preliminary  hearing  his 
case  was  set  for  trial.  The  cause  was  never 
heard,  since  the  charges  were  false.  By  such 
methods,  and  others  used  by  himself  locally, 
he  inspired  so  great  a degree  of  fear  in  the 
people,  even  the  more  intelligent  ones,  that 
they  sat  by  and  suff ered  in  silence. 

When  I visited  Cuyus-cuyus  it  was  related 
how,  recently,  the  juez  had  attended  a ball  in 
the  club  rooms,  and  angered  by  the  refusal  of 
a young  lady  to  dance  with  him,  stormed  and 
fumed  and  vented  his  spleen  by  knocking  a 
flute  from  the  mouth  of  the  nearest  musician 
and  ordering  the  orchestra  to  stop  playing. 

After  this  he  went  to  the  presidencia  and 
directed  the  sergeant  of  police  to  stop  the  ball ; 
but  the  Americans  and  Spaniards  who  were 
present  prevented  that  action. 

Another  recent  occurrence  was  related  to 
me.  It  was  said  that  a Filipino  returning  to 
his  home  unexpectedly  found  a Chinese  mer- 
chant in  his  wife’s  company;  the  Chinese 
escaped  only  after  being  wounded  by  a bolo 
in  the  hands  of  the  husband.  Both  men  were 
arrested.  The  juez  released  the  Chinese  after 
a private  interview,  but  kept  the  outraged  hus- 
band in  jail  for  a week,  after  which  he  obliged 
him  to  labor  as  a servant  in  the  family  of  his 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  329 


secretary.  In  a third  case*  there  had  been  a 
dispute  over  the  ownership  of  a carabao; 
neither  claimant  being  able  to  prove  his  con- 
tention conclusively,  the  juez  had  decided  that 
the  animal  should  be  sold  and  the  proceeds 
equally  divided  between  the  litigants.  This 
judgment  was  confirmed  by  the  court  of  first 
instance  to  which  one  of  the  men  appealed,  and 
the  juez  was  ordered  to  sell  the  beast  and  divide 
the  money.  This  had  taken  place  more  than  a 
year  before;  but  the  animal  was  still  in  the 
possession  of  the  juez , who  was  working  it  on 
his  farm;  and  neither  party  could  secure  satis- 
faction. 

But  by  this  time  the  people  were  rapidly 
coming  to  the  point  where  they  would  combine 
once  and  for  all  against  their  corrupt  official. 
Some  time  afterward  they  approached  the 
American  teacher,  asking  his  advice  and  co- 
operation in  the  matter;  and  when  the  division 
superintendent  next  visited  the  town  they 
called  upon  him,  also,  with  the  request  to  assist 
them  in  placing  the  case  before  the  authorities. 
The  desired  help  was  given ; and  to  avoid  any 
chance  of  a defeat  of  justice,  due  to  the  possi- 
bility of  a weak  presentation  of  their  cause,  the 
citizens  made  up  a fund  by  voluntary  contri- 

* Related  in  the  last  chapter. 


330 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


butions  with  which  they  retained  the  services 
of  an  American  attorney  to  prosecute  the  juez 
before  the  provincial  board.  The  trial  resulted 
in  the  condemnation  of  the  justice,  his  re- 
moval from  office  and  disfranchisement  for 
life.  There  was  talk  of  criminal  proceedings 
as  well;  whether  these  were  had  I am  unable 
to  say.* 

The  question  arises  in  my  mind,  as,  no  doubt, 
in  the  reader’s,  when,  under  the  present  gov- 
ernment, so  large  a number  of  local  officials 
practise  corruption  and  tyranny,  what  would 


*“I  have  heretofore  in  this  report  referred  to  the  incompe- 
tency and  ignorance  of  many  of  the  justices-of-the-peace.  In- 
stead of  many  I could  have  said  most,  and  might  even  have 
employed  a stronger  term.  . . . Sometimes,  and  only  too 
frequently,  in  addition  to  their  ignorance,  these  justices  are 
found  to  be  either  grossly  dishonest  or  else  under  the  influence 
of  a sharp  and  tricky  secretary  or  consuUor,  as  he  is  sometimes 
styled,  who,  from  his  superior  education  and  intelligence,  domi- 
nates the  justice-of-the-peace,  exercises  a strong  influence,  and 
preys  upon  the  wretched  inhabitants  of  the  community.  With 
these  men  the  motto  in  all  too  many  cases  is,  ‘A  public  office 
is  a public  graft,’  and  they  prey  upon  the  poor  people  of  the 
country  like  wild  beasts.” 

“ I am  convinced  that  no  one  who  has  not  been  in  the  prov- 
inces and  come  in  actual  contact  with  the  people  and  with  the 
operations  of  the  justice  courts,  can  form  any  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  extent  of  the  abuses  of  the  present  justice-of- 
the-peace  system.  It  is  said  that  the  cases  against  the  present 
justices  cannot  be  overstated.” — Extracts  from  Reports  of 
Officials  contained  in  the  Report  of  the  Philippine  Commission, 
part  iii.,  1904. 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  331 


become  of  the  poor  and  ignorant  masses  at  this 
stage  of  their  tutelage,  under  Filipino  govern- 
ment? For  reply  we  may  look  to  Santo  Do- 
mingo, Venezuela  and  Colombia. 

From  my  journeys  about  the  province  I was 
always  pleased  to  return  to  the  domicile  of 
Don  Fulgencio.  One  day,  after  such  an  ab- 
sence, I stood  watching  a black  and  bronze 
bird  rather  larger  than  a robin  confined  in  a 
wooden  cage  hanging  from  the  eaves  in  front 
of  the  window.  Its  feathers  glistened  and 
changed  color  in  the  sun — now  dark  green,  now 
bronze,  then  steel  blue  and  again  jet  black.  It 
is  called  in  Spanish  el  pajaro  de  siete  colores — 
the  bird  of  seven  colors.  But  it  was  not  alto- 
gether a pretty  sight,  as  its  plumage  was  in- 
jured; some  of  the  wing  and  tail  feathers  ap- 
peared to  be  missing  and  its  head  had  received 
some  hurt  and  was  only  partly  healed.  Ful- 
gencio came  up  and  said,  “I  gave  that  bird  its 
liberty  last  week.”  “Vamos,”  I replied,  “then 
how  did  it  get  back  into  the  cage?”  “Well,  I 
shall  tell  you.  When  Andreas  was  here  two 
weeks  ago,  he  said,  ‘Why  do  you  keep  that 
poor  bird  in  the  cage?  Don’t  you  see  how  he 
wants  to  get  out?  Give  him  his  liberty, 
hombre;  let  him  have  his  freedom.’  Vues , I 


332 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


pondered  over  Andreas’s  words  and  watched 
the  bird.  He  spent  most  of  the  time  thrusting 
his  head  out  between  the  bars;  though  he  had 
plenty  of  drink  and  food  and  the  boys  kept  the 
cage  clean  he  pined  for  his  freedom.  Seeing 
that  he  continued  unhappy  I decided  to  let  him 
have  his  way;  and  one  bright  morning  he 
hopped  to  the  open  door  of  the  cage,  stood  a 
moment  to  measure  the  space  and  be  sure  he 
was  not  deceived,  spread  his  wings  and,  in  a 
trice,  flew  away  toward  a large  talisay  tree 
near  the  presidencia.  r. Adios , pajaro / said  I; 
‘ojala  que  te  suceda  bien / * and  I went  about 
my  work. 

“That  afternoon,  just  as  I arose  from  my 
siesta,  one  of  the  policemen  stood  at  the  door 
and  called  my  name.  I went  to  him  and, 
diantre,  there  in  his  hands  was  my  bird;  his 
feathers  were  disordered  and  a few  were  lack- 
ing, his  crest  was  raw  and  bloody,  an  eye  was 
shut  and  a leg  was  lame.  In  reply  to  my  ques- 
tions, the  policeman  said  that  while  standing 
in  front  of  the  presidencia  he  had  heard  a flut- 
tering and  the  cries  of  a bird  under  the  big 
talisay,  and  had  seen  two  large  crows  attacking 
a smaller  bird  which  was  entirely  at  their 
mercy;  he  went  over  and  arrived  just  in  time 

*“  Good-by,  bird;  may  good  fortune  attend  thee.” 


SOME  FILIPINOS  I HAVE  KNOWN  333 


to  drive  the  crows  away  before  they  finished 
my  pet,  which  he  recognized  and  brought  hack 
to  me.  I stroked  the  plumage,  washed  the 
wrounds  and  put  my  pajaro  back  in  the  cage. 
He  drooped  for  a day  or  two,  but  now  he  is 
almost  well.  As  you  see,  he  no  longer  thrusts 
out  his  head ; he  is  content  to  eat  his  banana  and 
rice  and  remain  within  the  protecting  bars.” 
Reflectively  scratching  his  head  Fulgencio 
added:  “I  told  my  wife  that  we  Filipinos  are 
like  the  bird  of  seven  colors.  We  are  well  off, 
but  we  are  thinking  of  freedom — continually 
sticking  our  heads  through  the  bars;  we  fancy 
we  want  ‘independence.’  I told  her  there  may 
be  crows  hovering  about  that  we  know  not  of — 
maybe  Germany,  maybe  Japan — I do  not 
know.  For  the  present,  I said,  we  are  safe — 
we  are  well  off.  Let  us  be  content  in  the  cage.” 
“But,  Fulgencio,”  I said,  “don’t  you  see 
that  the  longer  the  bird  stays  in  the  cage  the 
more  unfit  he  will  become  to  take  care  of  him- 
self?” “Pues,”  returned  he;  “that  may  be  true 
of  the  •wounded  bird,  but  not  of  us  Filipinos. 
Our  cage  is  already  so  large  that  we  have 
plenty  of  room  to  exercise  our  wings,  to  in- 
crease our  strength  and  to  rear  our  young.  In 
that  respect  is  our  case  different  from  that  of 
my  poor  pajaro  ” And  he  brought  a piece  of 


334 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


fresh  banana  and  placed  it  between  the  bars 
above  the  perch.  “Ah,”  quoth  I to  Fulgencio, 
“would  that  some  of  your  brother  Filipinos 
might  know  the  experience  of  el  pajaro  de 
siete  colores  and  take  it  to  heart.”  And  as  I 
walked  to  the  school  I reflected  that  the  same 
object  lesson  would  be  beneficial  to  some  of 
my  brother  Ajnericans — to  those  well-meaning 
but  mistaken  friends  whom  we  call  anti-impe- 
rialists, could  they  but  understand  that  the 
Filipino  is  now  no  more  able  to  take  care  of 
himself  than  was  Don  Fulgencio’s  bird. 


LIST  OF  SPANISH  AND  PHILIPPINE  TERMS 
USED  IN  THIS  VOLUME 


Many  of  the  words  marked  T are  used  generally 
throughout  the  Islands. 

(T. — Tagalog;  B. — Bicol;  I. — Igorrote;  M. — Moro;  G. — Gaddan) 


abacd Manila  hemp 

abeja bee 

Adios good-by 

administrador administrator;  in  this  use,  an  ecclesi- 

astic temporarily  filling  the  office  of 
bishop 

alcalde mayor — under  the  Spanish  regime 

alegria joy 

almacen warehouse 

almacenero warehouse-man 

ambos both 

Americano American 

anito  (T.) spirit 

anting-anting  (T.) a magic  charm 

arroz rice 

aspirante aspirant 

bache mud-hole 

bagufo  (T.) typhoon 

bade ball,  dance 

bailarina belle  at  a ball 

banca  (T.) a dug-out  canoe 

banquete banquet 

bandillo proclamation  by  town-crier 

barong  (M.) warrior’s  broad  and  heavy  knife 

baroto  (T.) a dug-out  canoe,  larger  and  heavier  than 

a banca 

barrio ward,  outlying  hamlet 

bejuco rattan 

betel a vine  and  its  leaf 

335 


336  PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 

betel-nut fruit  of  the  areca  palm 

bien well  (adv.) 

bilog  (B.) a copper  coin  worth  a quarter  or  half 

cent 

bogador oarsman 

bolo  (T.) a knife  used  for  working  or  fighting 

bonga  (B.) betel-nuts,  fruit 

buenos  dias good  morning 

buen,  bueno good 

buri  (T.) a species  of  palm  and  its  fibre 

buyo  (T.) a mixture  for  chewing 

caballo horse 

calaboso calaboose,  jail 

calao  (T.) a bird  with  a spoon  bill 

caldo broth 

calentura fever 

camisa shirt,  usually  worn  outside  the  trousers 

camote • . . . sweet-potato 

campil&n  (M.) a weapon  between  a sword  and  a knife 

capit&n captain 

carabao  (T.) water  buffalo 

cargador carrier,  packer 

carromata a two-wheeled  vehicle  for  passengers 

casa house 

casa-gobiemo government-house 

casco a covered  barge 

cebolla onion 

c<5dula  (personal) certificate  of  identification  issued  upon 

payment  of  poll-tax 

centavo cent,  one-half  cent  of  U.  S.  money 

chico a fruit 

chinela a heelless  slipper 

Chino Chinese  (noun) 

Cristiano Christian 

cochero coachman,  driver 

cogon a tall,  coarse  grass 

color color 

commerciante a petty  merchant 

compadre fellow  groomsman 

companero companion 

comparsa retinue,  body  taking  part  in  a proces- 

sion 

concejal councilman 

convento convent,  parish  house 

cuartel quarters 

dengue a fever 

diantre  (excl.) the  devil 


LIST  OF  TERMS 


337 


Dios 

divino 

don  (masc.)  f 
dona  (fem.)  J 

. God 
. divine 

• title  of  respect 

ermita 

. a small  chapel 

fantan 

fiesta 

Filipina 

Filipinas,  Las 

fiscal 

Flores  de  Mayo,  Las.  . 

. a card  game  of  Chinese  origin 
. festival 

. feminine  of  Filipino 
. The  Philippines 
. prosecuting  attorney 
. a religious  ceremony,  (lit.)  the  flowers 
of  May 

fraile 

. friar 

gallina 

gallo 

gracias  a Dios 

gulay  (B.) 

guruck  (G.) 

guruckira  (G.) 

. hen 
. rooster 
. thank  God 

. cooked  vegetable,  a sauce 
. a small  bird 
. plural  of  guruck 

habichuelas 

harigues 

hombre 

huevos 

. kidney-beans 

. great  posts  supporting  a house 
. man 
• eggs 

iglesia 

ilang-ilang  (T.) 

independencia 

insurrecto 

. church 

. a tree  producing  fragrant  blossoms 
. independence 
. insurgent 

jabon 

juez 

juez  de  paz 

jugador 

juramentado 

. soap 
• judge 

. justice-of-the-peace 
. player,  gambler 
. one  sworn 

kris  (M.) 

. a two-edged  weapon,  between  a sword 
and  a knife 

ladron 

lavandero 

lavandera 

lanzon 

lukban  (T.) 

. robber,  thief 
. washman 
. washwoman 
. a fruit 
. grape  fruit 

338 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


madrina godmother,  bridesmaid 

maestro  (masc.)  I , , 

maestra  (fern.)  teacher 

mal,  malo evil,  bad 

malilipot  (T.) cold 

mango a fruit 

mayo  (B.) none,  there  is  no,  there  is  none 

Mayo May 

mestizo half-caste 

miedo fear 

miel honey 

molave  (T.) a tree  and  its  wood 

monte a game  at  cards 

muchacho boy,  man  or  boy  servant 

muelle quay 

muy very 

nipa  (T.) a kind  of  palm  and  its  foliage 

normalista nonnalite 

novenario novenary,  nine  days  of  worship 

nuestra  Senora our  Lady 

ojald  (excl.) grant,  God  grant 

olla earthen  pot  for  cooking 

paciencia patience 

padre father 

padrino godfather,  groomsman 

pahan see  pan 

pdjaro bird 

palupati  (I.) a bird 

pan bread 

parao  (M.) a sail  boat 

partido district 

Pena  (de)  Francia Rock  of  France 

perdon pardon 

peso dollar,  worth  fifty  cents  of  U.  S.  money 

petate a mat 

pieddd mercy 

pili  (B.) a tree 

pina pine-apple,  its  fibre,  cloth  made  from 

the  fibre 

po  (T.  & B.) sir 

poblacion population,  centre  of  population 

poncho a rubber  cloak  for  protection  from  rain 

porque why 

presidencia town-hall 

presidenta wife  of  the  presidente 


LIST  OF  TERMS 


339 


presidente mayor 

principal a leading  man 

pudiente a man  of  power  or  importance 

pues  (excl.) well  (interj.) 

quelis a tjvo-wheeled  coach 

rancheria collection  of  huts  of  the  wild  people 

rigodon a square  dance 

Rinconada a district  in  Camarines,  (lit.)  cornered 

rostro face 

sala large  room  in  a house 

saliimat  (T.) thank  you 

sarong  (T.) a loose,  skirt-like  garment 

sebolla see  cebolla 

sementera field,  sown  land 

seminario seminary 

sencillo simple 

seno gulf 

senora madam 

senorita miss,  young  lady 

sf yes 

siesta rest  after  noon 

siete seven 

sinaput  (B.) bananas  fried  in  batter 

talabon  (B.) a chair  carried  by  men 

talisay  (T.) a tree 

tao  (T.) peasant 

teniente lieutenant,  head-man  of  a barrio 

tobacco tobacco,  cigar 

tribunal town  hall  during  the  Spanish  regime 

tuba the  sap  of  the  cocoanut  tree 

vamos  (excl.) come 

vice-presidente vice-mayor 

vichuelas see  habichuelas 

vino wine 

viva live,  hurrah 

zacate grass 


340 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Note 

The  descriptive  works  on  the  Philippines 
most  likely  to  interest  the  general  reader  are : 

The  Philippine  Islands,  Foreman,  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons, 
New  York. 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  Philippines,  Sawyer,  Charles  Scrib- 
ner’s Sons,  New  York. 

The  Philippine  Islands  and  Their  People,  Worcester,  The 
Macmillan  Co.,  New  York. 

Yesterdays  in  the  Philippines,  Stevens,  Charles  Scribner’s 
Sons,  New  York. 

Gems  of  the  East,  A.  H.  S.  Landor,  Harper  & Brothers,  New 
York. 

The  Philippine  Islands,  Fred  W.  Atkinson,  Ginn  & Co., 
Boston. 

Philippine  Life  in  Town  and  Country,  James  A.  LeRoy,  G. 
P.  Putnam’s  Sons,  New  York. 


INDEX 


Abacd,  135,  169,  179,  181,  315, 
323 

Aglipay,  195 
Aglipayanos,  195,  196 
Agriculture,  Abandonment  of, 
135,  140 

Albay,  Conditions  in,  136,  137 
Alhambra,  Major,  25 
Aliaga,  20,  22 

Ambos  Camarines,  Chap.  XI, 
et  seq. 

Ants,  237 
Arayat,  Mt.,  16 
Aritao,  71 

Army  Officers,  18,  24,  27 

Bagabag,  31 
Baguio,  273,  274 
Baguios,  17,  22 

Bailes,  17,  29,  77,  152,  153, 
193,  253,  319 
Bambang,  26 
Baseball,  273,  286 
Bathing,  45,  58,  169,  229 
Bautista,  129,  130 
Bayombong,  29,  31,  52 
Beds,  45 

Betel-nut,  70,  316,  317 
Bicol  River,  134 
Bicols,  136,  et  seq.,  217,  244, 
et  seq.,  279,  et  seq.,  292,  et 
seq. 

Binajian,  210 
Bombon,  Lake,  257,  et  seq. 
Bon6,  71 

Brigandage,  137,  138 
Buhi,  173,  174 
Buhi,  Lake,  174 


Bula,  157 
Bulan,  147 
Butuan  Bay,  263 

Cabanatuan,  17,  et  seq. 

Cagsau,  256 
Cailles,  General,  9,  11 
Calumpit,  16 
Camiguin,  263 
Caraballo  Sur,  26 
Carabao,  5,  21,  58,  72,  139, 
140,  167,  168,  218,  301 
Caramoan,  183,  et  seq. 
Carranglan,  24,  25,  129 
Cebu,  264,  265 
Centipedes,  237 
Ceremonies,  Religious,  Chap. 
VII,  143,  194 

Children,  Filipino,  10,  57,  66, 
67,  72,  265,  Chap.  XIX,  309, 
314 

Children,  Igorrote,  63,  et  seq., 
273,  274 

Children  of  American  Indians, 
275,  276 

Chinese,  184,  185,  205,  252, 
271 

Cholera,  Asiatic,  98,  129,  130, 
132,  141,  146,  147 
Cigars,  31 

Climate,  3,  32,  46,  219 
Cock-fighting,  28,  59,  74,  76, 
83,  321 

Cocoanut  Groves,  169,  308 
Commerce,  Retail,  184,  185 
Commissary,  Civil,  50 
Congressional  Relief  Fund,  See 
Relief  Fund,  Congressional 


341 


342 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Constabulary,  Philippines,  55, 
73,  129,  213 
Coral,  184 

Daet,  154,  217 
Dalupaon,  206 
Dapitan,  264 
Death-rate,  141,  144 
Dialects,  81, 103,  104, 139,  199, 
217,  270 

Disease,  See  Sickness 
Domestic  Life,  57,  58, 116, 117, 
186,  187,  315 

Dramas,  75,  76,  80,  81,  82,  85 

Dress,  17,  30,  66 

Dress  of  Igorrotes,  68,  273 

Drought,  144 

Dupax,  26,  32 

Dwellings,  28,  44,  52 

Easter,  92,  93 

Famine,  141,  144,  145,  284, 
285 

Festivals,  See  Fiestas 
Fevers,  Malignant,  141,  144 
Fiestas,  Chap.  VI,  145,  245, 
et  seq. 

Fire-arms,  138,  225 
Fire-flies,  300 

Food,  7,  30,  47,  49,  50,  54,  56, 
59,  62,  64,  77,  80,  118,  129, 
130,  201,  210,  211,  285 
Forests,  174,  180 
Forest-woods,  207 
Friars,  64,  105,  253 
Fuji  San,  255 
Funerals,  94,  95,  311 
Funston,  General,  16,  24 

Gaddanes,  28,  81,  103 
Gambling,  7,  83,  181,  320,  321 
Games,  Children’s,  273,  286, 
287 

Good  Friday,  90,  et  seq. 
Governors,  Provincial,  Ameri- 
can, 136 

Governors,  Provincial,  Fili- 
pino, 9,  323,  et  seq. 

Graft,  318,  321,  322 


Head-hunters,  64,  65,  71,  et 
seq.,  119,  120 
Hemp,  Manila,  See  Abac& 
Holy  Week,  89,  et  seq. 

Horses,  24,  140 

Housekeeping,  American,  Chap. 
IV,  236,  et  seq.,  241 


Igorrotes,  28,  49,  59,  et  seq., 
Chap.  V.,  77,  85,  et  seq.,  272, 
et  seq. 

Iguana, 228 
Ilang-ilang,  169 
Ilocanos,  27,  81,  103 
Images,  Religious,  10,  78,  92, 
93,  143 
Indan,  217 

Instruction,  See  Teaching 
Instruction,  Spanish,  19,  20, 
105 


Insurrection,  9,  22,  303 
Iriga,  169,  et  seq. 

Iriga,  Mt.,  168,  169,  173 
Isanays,  103 

Isarog,  Mt.,  134,  168,  178 


Japanese,  51,  271 
Jolo,  265,  et  seq. 

Juramentados,  266,  note 
Justices-of-the-Peace,  306, 307, 
327,  et  seq. 


Labor,  272 

Labor,  Ideas  of,  159,  160 
Ladronism,  136,  et  seq.,  212 
Laguna  de  Bay,  6,  8 
Laguna,  La,  11 
Laundering,  56,  57,  59 
Legends,  Religious,  246,  265 
Leprosy,  202,  203 
Lizards,  237,  et  seq. 

Locusts,  12,  141 


Ma-bato-bato,  197 
Magat  River,  15,  126 
Magellan,  263,  264 
Mails,  54,  55,  148 


INDEX 


343 


Malaria,  Malignant,  141,  144 
Mambulao,  227,  et  seq. 

Manila,  5,  130 
Manila  Bay,  4 

Markets  and  Market  People,  6, 
22,  28,  48,  49,  170,  et  seq. 
Matango,  223,  et  seq. 

Mayon  Volcano,  168,  255,  256 
Minalabag,  159 
Mindanao,  263,  et  seq. 

Mines,  Gold,  226,  227 
Monkeys,  48,  239,  240 
Moros,  179,  226,  265,  et  seq. 
Mosquitoes,  224,  236 
Music,  76,  77,  82,  94,  272 

Negritos,  169,  197,  et  seq. 
Nueva  C&ceres,  134,  135,  Chap. 
XVII 

Nueva  Vizcaya,  Chap.  Ill,  et 
seq. 

Opium,  184,  185 
Pagsanjan,  9 

Palestina  Leper  Hospital,  201 
Pampanga,  Rio  Grande  de,  16 
Pamplona,  204 
Paracale,  226,  227 
Partido  de  Lagonoy,  178,  et 
seq. 

Pasacao,  206 
Pdsig  River,  4,  6 
Payatan,  180,  et  seq. 

Peasants,  See  Taos 
Peonage,  Child,  66,  67,  159, 
287,  et  seq. 

Pili,  155,  et  seq. 

Poverty  of  Municipalities,  156, 
158,  206,  213,  214,  227 
Poverty  of  Natives,  224,  284, 
et  seq.,  287;  see  Famine 
Prayers,  143,  144,  172 
Presidentes,  Municipal,  125, 
156,  157,  166,  181,  185,  318, 
et  seq. 

Priests,  Native,  146,  164,  165, 
166,  181,  195,  et  seq.,  229. 


Processions,  Religious,  77,  78, 
92,  142,  143,  146,  250 
Products,  Food,  6,  49,  210 

Quiangan,  65,  68,  70 
Quias  Hill,  272 

Ragay,  212,  et  seq. 

Ragay  Gulf,  207,  et  seq 
Ragay  River,  210,  212 
Relief  Fund,  Congressional, 
144,  156,  157,  159,  213,  224, 
229 

Religion,  See  Ceremonies,  Im- 
ages, Legends,  Prayers, 
Priests,  Processions,  Services 
Rice,  Cultivation,  9,  39,  301, 
302 

Rice  as  Food,  50,  51 
Rice,  Government,  144,  156, 
157,  159,  213,  224,  229 
Rinconada,  169,  et  seq. 
Rinderpest,  135,  139,  140 
Rizal,  Josd,  264 
Road,  Benguet,  271 
Roads,  21,  23,  173,  174,  217, 
et  seq.,  222,  225,  271,  273 

Salcedo,  Juan,  Captain,  226 
San  Isidro,  16 

Sanitarium,  Government,  273 
San  Josd,  Nueva  Ecija,  24 
San  Miguel  Bay,  135,  136,  230, 
et  seq. 

Santa  Cruz,  8,  9 
School,  High,  Daet,  154,  155 
School,  High,  Provincial,  Nu- 
eva Caceres,  151,  et  seq. 
School,  Normal,  Manila,  161 
School,  Trade,  Manila,  161 
School-houses,  120,  157,  158, 
224, 229 

Schools,  American,  32,  et  seq., 
Chap.  VIII,  Chap.  IX,  122; 
Chap.  XII,  172,  207,  214, 
220,  223,  229 

Schools,  Barrio,  Chap.  IX,  172, 
223 

Schools,  Night,  38,  154 


344 


PHILIPPINE  EXPERIENCES 


Schools,  Normal,  Chap.  VIII, 
294 

Schools,  Private,  19,  20 
Schools,  Spanish,  20,  105,  110 
Serenades,  82,  83 
Servants,  48,  59,  60,  61,  67 
Services,  Religious,  79,  90,  91, 
194,  245,  248,  253 
Sickness  (Americans),  124,  et 
seq.,  133,  142,  147 
Sickness  (Natives)  141,  142, 
144,  188,  189,  202,  310 
Small-pox,  188,  189 
Solano,  27,  28,  Chap.  IV,  et  seq. 
Soldiers,  American,  25,  42,  71, 
142,  150,  304 

Songs,  38,  106,  et  seq.,  206 
Spanish  Language,  103 
Stoves,  46 

Students,  152,  153,  155,  160 
Sultan  of  Sulu,  268,  et  seq. 
Sulu  Archipelago,  270 
Surra,  140 

Taal  Volcano,  257,  et  seq. 
Tagalogs,  Chap.  I,  Chap.  II, 
136,  206;  Chap.  XVI,  284 
Taos,  137,  et  seq.,  Chap.  XXI 
Taxation,  145,  308,  309 
Taylor,  Lieutenant,  24 
Teachers,  American,  97,  et  seq., 
112,  145,  et  seq.,  152,  153, 


154,  166,  188,  189,  217,  218, 
279,  280 

Teachers,  Native,  32,  71,  97, 
101,  104,  111,  112,  115,  120, 
172,  206,  214,  Chap  XX. 
Teachers,  Soldier,  150 
Teachers,  Supervising,  112, 
113,  117,  173,  217,  218,  et 
seq. 

Teachers’  Classes,  32,  113,  173 
Teaching,  Civic,  163 
Teaching,  Industrial,  160,  161 
Teaching,  Normal,  Chap.  VIII, 
294 

Teaching,  Religious,  164,  165 
Teaching  of  English,  32,  et  seq., 
Chap.  VIII,  Chap.  XII,  283 
Teaching  of  Science,  162 
Tenientes  of  Barrios,  115,  119 
Tinambac,  180 
Tiuf,  174 

Tobacco,  18,  30,  31,  209 
Twin  Peaks,  271 

Vacations,  39,  Chap.  XVIII 
Volcanoes,  See  Mt.  Isarog,  Mt. 
Iriga,  Mayon,  Taal 

Weddings,  95,  96,  189,  190 
White-ants,  237 

Zamboanga,  265 


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